


Take a chance, roll the dice

by noonoosbizarreadventure



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Persona 5
Genre: M/M, No Angst, Not Beta Read, expect some shukita sprinkled here and there, it's not the main focus of the fic though, only fluff in this household, rating is in case Ryuji feels like cursing a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2020-07-11 13:29:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 66,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19928839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noonoosbizarreadventure/pseuds/noonoosbizarreadventure
Summary: Basically, this is a “what if the p5 crew played D&D” fic. Just a bunch of friends being nerds and loving each other.





	1. Let the adventure begin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thanks for taking an interest in this strange little thing my mind pooped out! This is a weird experiment, so sorry if things don’t make a lot of sense or are badly written. Who could’ve imagined that trying to NARRATE a game of D&D would be difficult…  
> I was debating a lot whether or not to upload this, since I wrote it purely for my own entertainment (and so that I would have an excuse to mix two of my current obsessions). My intention is to be alternating between game story and real life interactions during the fic.  
> Also, English is not my first language, so sorry in advance for any errors. Not beta’d, ‘cause none or my friends are deep enough on either fandom to suffer for me. I should also mention to that I haven’t written any type of story since I was, 12, so… yeah.  
> Hope you enjoy it! I’ll put a list of everyone’s characters in the end notes, but I wanted to let you guess who is who first. Check the notes to see if you were right! See you there!

It’s a slow, warm mid afternoon in the city of Yogen. We find ourselves in the interior of the tavern “El Blanco”, one of the many located in the centre of town. Even though usually this lowly tavern doesn’t see many customers, today it seems business is going well. Several patrons sit scattered across the entire establishment, while a bard plays a lazy tune in the haphazard stage in one corner of the tavern. Each of you is enjoying a drink, or having light conversation with whomever you’re sharing the table. If you’d like to introduce yourselves one by one…

"Uhh…. who should start?"

"I don’t want to be the first one…"

"Oh, I’m so nervous!"

"Alright then, I’ll start. I think I’m sitting alone in one of the tables, facing the tavern’s door. I’m a pretty tall woman, with long, light hair tied in an undone bun on the back of my head. I’m wearing some baggy clothes and my fists are all bandaged. My name’s Adriael."

Please, tell the others what races you are.

"Oh, I’m an aasimar."

"Wha’s dat?"

"A half angel basically, yes?"

Correct. Next one!

"Ok… I’m a girl too, and I think I would be sitting at the counter… drinking a smoothie or something sweet like that. My hair is really short and curly, coloured like honey, and I’m wearing some simple but very nice purple robes. I’m a half-elf and my name’s Persephone. And there’s some annoying guy sitting right next to me…"

"Hey!! …. Guess it’s my turn. Yeah, so I’m a super buff, super cool looking earth genasi, I’m like made out of rock or something and I have a badass looking axe with me. Not wearing any fancy clothes in particular. My name’s Tauros."

"I’m next then! I’m sitting alone on a table too, because I’m too shy to talk to anybody… I’m a half-orc, and I’m wearing clothes with green and earthy tones. My hair is all tied up and decorated entirely with little flowers. I’m also carrying a staff. My name’s Margarita, but almost everyone calls me Marga."

"I would sit with you on your table and talk to you!! I’m a very dashing black tabaxi, with regal looks and sharp, deep blue eyes. I’m wearing some light coloured robes and carry a small staff as well. I have a shield on my right arm too. You may refer to me as Félix. Oh, and probably my companion is with me as well."

"Sure… I’m human. Black hair, black clothes. Nothing special about me, just a simple dude. Name’s Pego."

That’s it…?

"What else is there to say?" he shrugs.

"I’ll follow, then. I’m Eran, an eladrin. I’m the bard playing on the tavern’s stage. I’m currently playing a harp, though I also have a flute and some other instruments on my person. As for my clothes, they have a colourful and fashionable tone, though they don’t stand up too much."

Ok! Now, for the last one…

"Of course. I believe I would also be sitting facing the door. I have a sword with me and I’m wearing comfortable travel clothes. I’m a grey tiefling, and my name’s Robin."

"So lame you named yourself after your persona…"

"Ryuji, shush!"

Only character names at the table please!!!

"Sorry…"

Alright, so… You’re all the customers currently at the tavern, besides the owner, Jiso, who’s attending the people sitting at the counter. You’re all enjoying yourselves, not being very mindful of the other patrons, when suddenly, you hear some ruckus from outside. Once you look towards the door and windows, you notice that the sound is getting louder, and louder, and some cries of help begin appearing as well. In mere seconds, the sound gets uncomfortably close, and in a moment, with a loud explosion, two mandrakes take down the tavern’s door and come storming in!! What do you do?

"I get up and punch them!!" Tauros slams the table as he says so.

"WAIT!! You can’t just go and beat them, brute!" Persephone yells at him, lightly slapping him on the shoulder.

"Why, they’re monsters!! I PUNCH THEM!!"

Ok, before that you all need to roll for initiative.

"Roll for what now?" Tauros says confused, trying to figure out which one of the dice is the d20.

"Oh, our first roll! So exciting!" Margarita says happily while throwing her dice with a flare.

Ok, so the one with the higher roll goes first, and then the next follows, until everyone is done. So, you can start Adriael.

"I get to them and punch them," she comments with a flat tone.

"See? It’s the thing to do," Tauros scoffs at Persephone.

"Shut up…"

Right, so roll for hit and then damage!

"6 damage."

Awesome, next person...!

***

And so, you defeated the two mandrakes, who lay dead in front of you now. 

"I want to step up and examine the bodies, see if I can tell anything about them," Adriael says.

Ok, roll an investigation check. Roll a d20 and add your investigation.

[19]

Wow, good roll! So, you start examining the bodies, and you find that they’re covered in soil, and pretty malnutritioned. By how dirty they are, you gather that they probably come from the forest surrounding the town. It’s unusual that they would come into the city. It looks like they came directly from their habitat to assault whatever place was their objective.

"Is it related to what I’ve heard?"

It is.

"I see…" she turns to speak to the whole group. "Hello everyone, my name is Adriael, and I work for the Yogen government. You’ve probably heard about this, but various monster attacks, much like this one, have been happening around town. I’ve been sent to investigate, but I lack some sort of backup or reinforcement. Since you’ve proved yourselves quite capable during battle, I’d like to ask for your aid. You’ll be rewarded, of course," Adriael says all of that as if reading a memorized script, she seems quiet nervous. "F-futaba was that all right?"

Amazing, keep going!

"You want us as mercenaries?" Persephone asks her.

"Well… I don’t particularly like that word, but it would be an accurate description."

"I’m interested," Robin says, getting closer to the group.

"Me too!" Persephone does a little jump and joins the group. 

"Uuhh… if there’s money… count me.. in…?" Tauros says, somewhat hesitant.

Your roleplay sucks.

"HEY."

"This seems like a good opportunity to go see the world, and besides, if there’s a reward, the deal just sweetens. Count me in as well," Eran smiles at the group and nods.

"Me too! I want to know more about these monsters!" Marga comments, happily.

Pego, can you roll a perception check for me?

"....? Sure…"

[3]

…. Ok. So, while the whole group is talking, Jiso starts coughing to catch your attention. However, you seem distracted, so it alerts the whole group.

"Right… I’ll look at him."

He hands you a note. Here, read it, but don’t show it to anyone.

_Go with them. This lady seems rather suspicious and I want to know what’s up. Also, I’d prefer to avoid any further damage to my establishment, so figure out what’s going on and try to stop my place from being destroyed. Take Félix with you._

"WAIT WAIT WHAT’S THAT?" Tauros starts shouting.

YOU DON’T KNOW, YOU DON’T SEE IT.

"BULLSHIT."

"I want to give the note to Félix."

Ok, roll a sleight of hand check for me.

[12]

"COME ON WE TOTALLY SEE THAT."

Uuugggh…. ok, roll a perception check to see if you catch him slipping the note to Félix.

[7]

"Seven…?" Tauros says, somewhat sheepish.

You don’t see it. Félix, you get the note.

"Ok, I’ll read it. Stealthily…?"

Roll stealth then!

[12]

"DO I SEE THAT NOW?" Tauros says, throwing the d20 on the table.

[1]

"....."

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA what a loser. No, you don’t see anything.

"Isn’t that like, the WORST you can do?" Persephone turns at him laughing loudly.

"SHUT UP ANN, stupid game…"

"How fitting to the narrative," Eran comments while chuckling. Marga can’t help but laugh as well. 

"Anyway… My associate and I will join as well!! Be grateful that we’ll accompany you!" Félix says with a smug face, talking to the group. Pego just nods next to him. 

"... I think now we should go report to my superiors… and then they’ll give us some orders…?"

Yes, so you exit El Blanco and head to the government building. Once you get there, the whole party is officially registered as the investigators of the case and you’re given further information about the attacks. It seems that the anonymous informer that keeps warning the authorities about the monsters said that in 2 days, there’s an attack planned on a farming vila in the outskirts of Yogen. You’re tasked to go there, stop the attack, and try to gather more information about the case. 

"We’ll head there then."

It’s like a 4-hour walk there, and it’s already night time.

"So… we’ll start heading there tomorrow morning?" Persephone asks, looking at the group. Everyone nods in agreement.

Got it. The next morning, you get all your supplies ready and travel to said location. The trip goes uneventful, and you arrive at the farm. 

"The attack is supposed to happen tomorrow, right? Maybe we should scout the place and think of a strategy before it happens," Robin suggest with a small smile.

"I think it’s a good idea," agrees Adriael.

"Are there people living on the farm?"

There are.

"Shouldn’t we tell them to leave? So that they don’t get hurt," Pego suggests to the whole group.

"I think that would be rather wise. There’s no need to risk innocent lives," Eran seems fond of the idea.

"I would suggest otherwise. Maybe if the usual state of the farm is altered, the monsters will call off the attack and we won’t be able to proceed with our mission. I would not tell them," Robin counters with a stern face.

"And let the people die? No way dude."

"Actually… Ake..ROBIN makes a great point. Maybe we shouldn't tell them," Adriael sides with Robin’s proposal.

Ok, let’s have both Robin and Pego roll and see what you’ll do then. Robin, you go first.

[11]

Pego?

[8]

"I win," Robin smiles at Pego. "Let’s look at the surrounding areas without altering the farmers and think of a plan."

Yes, so you check all around the farm and find out that there’s an open area leading to the big forest in the outskirts of town, so you assume that the monsters will come from there. Besides that, there’s nothing else of interest, and the farmers don’t seem to notice you. Do you want to camp out and wait for the next day?

"Yes, let’s do that."

Next day comes, and as expected, once the sun starts to go down, the monsters appear. This time, a bunch of mandrakes and jack o’lanterns, accompanied by a scary looking Berith appear. Roll for initiative…!

***

So, after much struggle, you manage to defeat all the monsters. The people from the farm… [12] mmhh… some of them suffer some major injuries, and most of the farming land and buildings are destroyed, but none of them die.

"This sucks… we should’ve told them," Tauros grumbles, doing a little kick.

That’s the way the dice roll… But yes, you’re now on the after-battle field. What do you do?

"Can we investigate around a bit to see if we find more information about what the monsters were trying to accomplish?" Félix asks, already taking the dice with his mouth and throwing it to the table.

[11]

After carefully looking at the destruction the monsters left behind, you do notice that some of it is cantered at specific areas, but you can’t quite figure out what it could mean. What I can tell you for sure is that they weren’t particularly interested in harming the people. They just attacked them because they were on the way.

"So, the beasts are not particularly blood thirsty… they’re after something else…" Eran musses aloud. The rest of the party seems to agree with him.

"Our job is done… I think we should go back to Yogen and report what happened. We can’t do much else here…" Adriael suggests.

"I want to try and help the farmers as much as I can. Maybe I can help heal their crops? Or treat their wounds?" Marga asks, a worried frown on her face.

"I can help healing them as well!" Félix joins her.

Ok, you two try to help the farmers as much as you can before you leave. Since they didn’t know you knew about the attack in advance, they are very grateful that you took out the monsters and are helping them now.

"Ugh… I feel so guilty…" Persephone says, with a disgusted look on her face.

"Same…" Tauros whispers.

So, once your business is finished, you go back to Yogen to report and see what new leads you have to try and figure out the mystery of the monsters’ attacks…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Did you like it? I wanted it to be easy to read and not feel boring, so hopefully I managed to do it? I had this whole idea on my head about how it was supposed to be, and then when I started writing it, it all went out the window.  
> As I said before, this is an experiment, so maybe the game narration format will change in the future. I would appreciate any feedback you have to try and improve!
> 
> Without further ado, here’s the character list, with names, races and classes!  
> -Akira: Pego, human rogue. (Yes, I’m very good at choosing names).  
> -Morgana: Félix, tabaxi cleric.  
> -Ryuji: Tauros, earth genasi barbarian.  
> -Ann: Persephone, half-elf wizard.  
> -Yusuke: Eran, eladrin bard.  
> -Makoto: Adriael, aasimar monk.  
> -Haru: Margarita (Marga), half-orc druid.  
> -Akechi: Robin, tiefling warlock.  
> -Futaba: DM.
> 
> How many did you guess right? Like I said, at the begging I was planning on narrating the fighting scenes as well, so the classes were more relevant then, but I thought it would be too long (and boring), so I decide to let them out at the end.  
> By the way, and important detail to know is that all the numbers between [...] are results of actual dice I rolled while writing this. There are not added bonuses or anything though, it’s just the straight d20 roll. I wanted it to still have the uncertainty and luck-based part of D&D, so I let the dice choose some of the results of the story. Hopefully, in the future I’ll be able to do it even more.
> 
> (Yes, Ryuji actually rolled a 1 while trying to catch Morgana and Akira. You can’t even imagine how hard I laughed with that.)
> 
> Chapter two is already posted, so go take a look if you want! On that one, we actually have some real world interaction between all the crew, so the format’s a more “traditional” fanfic one. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great day! <3


	2. After the heat of battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post game impressions and curry time.

"THAT, WAS, SO, COOL!!" Ryuji loudly proclaims, looking at the rest of the table terribly excited.

"Yes, it was way more fun than I expected!" Haru says, smiling happily. "I can’t wait to keep playing next week!"

"I never thought I would enjoy this kind of games… You did an excellent job, Futaba," Makoto turns to her with eyes full of gratitude.

"O-of course it was awesome… I’m a-awesome at games…" she tries to sound confident, but she keeps crawling into herself and hiding her red face behind the dm screen. 

"Makoto’s character is just as badass as she’s in the Metaverse. Those fists punch through other dimensions," Ann says, sounding impressed.

"I must agree. I enjoyed my character quite a lot too. It’s a shame that I can’t actually sing… maybe I should put some practice into it," Yusuke starts getting himself lost on his own head, while the others just quietly laugh.

"T-thank you… anyway, is anyone else hungry?" Makoto tries to change the subject so that the spotlight isn’t on her anymore, failing to hide the embarrassment from her teammates’ praise.

"I prepared dinner beforehand. Let’s go," Akira answer her as he stands up, heading downstairs to start serving dinner for everyone.

"Lady Ann!!! Did you see how powerful my spells were? Weren’t you impressed?" Morgana follows Ann down the stairs, doing little jumps next to her.

"Yes, casting spells is so much fun! I want to level up already and get some more!"

"I think so too, even though I don’t have many… Thought I’m intrigued about what is actually going on with the monster attacks. It looks like there’s more behind it," Akechi tries to join the group conversation, pondering aloud about what they’ve discovered so far.

"Yes… I hope the government has found something else that will help us piece together the scraps of information we have. I’m sure we’ll have to face more attacks like that one on the future," Makoto replies to Akechi’s thoughts and joins the other in one of the booths.

"Next time, WE EVACUATE," Ryuji glares intently at both of them, and they simple chuckle awkwardly at him.

"You’re done? You took a long time up there…" Sojiro asks them, putting down the crosswords puzzle he’d been doing. "And you sure were loud," he looks directly at Ryuji.

"It’s the spirit of the game, Sojiro," Futaba simply tells him while sitting on the counter. "CURRY!!!"

"Yes please, I’m rather hungry myself," Yusuke sits next to Futaba and glues his eyes to the curry pot on the stove.

"Coming right up."

Akira starts serving each of them some curry and rice, together with a glass of water. They’ve been drinking coffee while playing, so they shouldn’t drink any more for the day if they actually wanted to sleep tonight. He distributes the curry evenly between them and makes sure to have some leftovers in case someone wanted seconds, though he also puts two generous extra spoonfuls on Yusuke’s dish, who doesn’t seem to notice as he’s distracted eating it.

"... I’m hungry too, you know," Futaba calls Akira out, glaring at him. He just shrugs.

"There’s food in front of you."

Futaba sticks her tongue out and just gets back to her food, joining the others in the conversation about the game, their guesses on what’s going on, and their general excitement. She didn’t expect they would love playing so much, but she’s very happy about it.

Sojiro absentmindedly listens to the teenagers, smiling softly. Then, he remembers something that he wanted to ask and turns to face them.

"The cat sure was meowing a lot while you were playing… was he playing as well?"

The whole group falls into silence at looks at each other, not knowing what to say.

"He doesn’t like being left out," Akira simply tells him, and goes back to his curry.

Sojiro looks at him with wide eyes and sighs, mumbling a soft 'kids these days', and turns back to work. They all fall back into happy conversation, and eventually part to return to their respective homes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hewwo again, hope you liked these two chapters! I wanted them to serve as a preview of what I intend to do with this fic, though as I said before, maybe I’ll change some things on the future, to improve the narration and the overall format. Feel free to leave any suggestions or criticism on the comments.  
> Chapter 3 is on the go, so please wait a little more until I finish it! I have a little surprise planned for it.  
> In the meantime, take care of yourselves, drink plenty of water, be gay, and do crime. Buh-bye!


	3. Starved beasts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is here! This time, we’ll continue the investigation of the attacks on Yogen… Will they be able to figure out what’s going on?

Last time, we left our party back in the town of Yogen. After defeating the monsters attacking a farm near town, you decided to come back and report the events, hoping to find any type of new information that could aid you on your investigation. To do so, you’ve come back to the government building, where Adriael’s superiors are. 

"I think we should talk about what we want to explain to them before going in," Robin suggests to the whole group, though he’s looking specifically at Adriael.

"What would we tell them besides the truth?" asks Eran, with a rather confused look on his face.

"Well… we are NOT going to tell them we let all those farmers get hurt…" Persephone whispers quietly, as if afraid anyone would hear them.

"Oh, that… of course."

"What information did we gather about the attacks?" Marga asks out loud, starting to go through a little pink notebook. 

"Allow me to explain!!" Félix coughs faintly to get everyone’s attention and puffs out his chest. "Listen well everybody! So, from the first attack we discovered that the monsters seem to come directly from the forest, meaning they only come into town to 'perform' the attacks. From the farm, we gathered that they were looking for something specific, but we couldn’t really tell what it was. We also concluded that they weren’t interested in harming the people," he continues recapping the situation, reading some neatly written notes from a paper.

"... Who wrote that for you?" Tauros questions while taking the note from Félix.

"T-that’s not important right now! Give it back this is important intel!!!"

"He threaten me with advancing my sleeping schedule 2 hours if I didn’t," Pego calmly explains.

"THAT’S BESIDES THE POINT!!" Félix yells while he scratches Tauros hand to get his note back.

"Please, everybody calm down," Adriael scolds them with a stern tone and lets out a small sigh. "Alright, let’s go back inside and just tell them the information relevant to the attacks. If they ask us about the farmers, we’ll think of what to tell them in the spot."

"Would you mind letting me talk to them? My deception is quite high… that’s what you use when you lie to people yes?" Robin seems to be talking to the air.

Yup. Thank god at least someone read the rules beforehand… Anyways, you get in and tell them what Félix just said. They note everything down and thank you for your services. Unfortunately, it seems that their anonymous informant hasn’t leaked any info of an upcoming attack, so you’re tasked to stay in town and wait until they call you over once more. You’re free to go anywhere you want in Yogen.

"Besides Adriael, none of us has seen all the other places that were attacked, right? Shouldn’t we go check them out?" Persephone asks, looking at the rest of the group for approval.

"Yes, that would be very helpful. Do you remember where the other establishments are?" Robin turns to Adriael.

"Maybe? I think we could get a list with all of them though…"

Sure, you ask your higher ups and they give you one. There’s a total of 15 establishments.

"Let’s split up and go check them out, it will be faster that way. We need two groups of 4. I think it would be better if Robin and I were in different groups though."

"I agree. So, how should we split?"

"I’ll go with Adriael, if that’s all right," Marga proposes, all smiles while lifting her hand, as if volunteering for it.

"All right, I’ll go with Robin, then," Eran follows suit, choosing the opposite team.

"I’m going too," Pego quickly jumps in.

"I want with Mak-Adriael, can’t bother to think about this."

"I’ll join in as well! My keen eyes will be very useful to you!" Félix decides to join Adriael’s team too. While communicating his decision out loud, he casts a subtle glance to Pego, who answers with a curd nod.

"Welp, I’m going to the spot that’s left then..."

"Let’s meet up at El Blanco once we’re done?" Marga asks the party. Everyone nods in approval.

Ok, let’s go with Adriael’s team first. You, Tauros, Marga and Félix decide to tackle all the establishments situate in the southern area of town, which are 6 of the total 15. El Blanco is one of them. If it’s ok with you, we can have one of you roll with advantage instead of everyone rolling.

"Ok, so the one with the highest investigation…" Marga starts looking at the large sheet with stats in front of her, eyebrows furrowed.

"I think that would be me, I roll twice and take the bigger number yes?" Even though she asks, Adriael has already thrown to dice.

[15]

[12]

15…. ok. So you gather that from the different places (mainly taverns, inns and supply stores) the most damaged was taken on the entrances, counters, and storage rooms. The attacks also happened to occur within weeks of each other. The shortest period was 5 days, and the longest 2 weeks. 

"Mmmhh… Can we ask the storekeepers about what type of monsters attacked them?"

Yes. Through their descriptions, you gather they were all monsters you already battle, mainly mandrakes and jack o’lanters. None of them had seen a berith. 

"All right… I think that’s it for our group."

Ok, team Robin, you investigate the rest of the establishments on the north area. Someone roll with advantage please. 

"If it’s ok with everyone, I’ll roll," Robin takes two dices on his hand on preparation.

"Sure, go ahead," Persephone responds.

[4]

[12]

"Ah-hahaha…" Robin rubs his neck, a bit embarrassed. One of his eyebrows seems to be twitch with anger.

"I guess you can’t be a detective prince both in real life and in the game…" Eran muses aloud, placing a hand on his chin in a pensive pose. 

"What’s with all these 12s anyways?" Persephone sighs with frustration.

You don’t find anything new. So you head back to El Blanco?

"I guess…"

Alright, you all meet back there and exchange the information you found. Can both leaders of the investigation teams roll an intelligence check for me?

"You mean us?" Robin points at himself and looks at Adriael "Ok…"

[17]

Adriael?

[1]

"....." Adriael glares at the dice. Tauros and Persephone fail at trying to hide their growing laughter.

"I believe this is the only time we’ll see Makoto fail an intelligence challenge," Marga comments while laughing as well.

"Can I roll too?" Pego asks.

Sure.

[8]

"We’re a bunch of idiots…" Félix grimaces. 

It’s ok, Robin’s roll was high enough. I just wanted to remind you that when you fought the first mandrakes, you found them desnutritioned.

"Desnutritioned?" Persephone repeats.

"... They only attack places where there’s food," Pego suddenly says.

"Food?"

"The farm, the storage rooms… Taverns, inns and supply stores, right?" Pego elaborates on his theory.

"So, they’re collecting food? Because they don’t have any?" Tauros concludes.

"But there hasn’t been any reports saying the forest doesn’t produce food…" Marga explains, sure of her statement.

"We can say for sure they’re after food then? We should report this to the government..."

It’s quite late already, you’ll have to do it tomorrow morning.

"Ok, let’s sleep here and go there in the morning."

"Can I stay downstairs after the others leave?" Pego asks.

Yeah.

"I want to tell Jiso everything we’ve found this far, as well as what we’ve been told by the government. About the anonymous informant too. You didn’t find anything else, right Félix?"

"Nothing," he confirms.

"That’s it then. I go to bed too."

Got it. Anyone else wants to do something? Ok, so you sleep until morning and make your way to the government building again. You relay what you found yesterday, and to your delight, it looks like a new leak from their informant has come overnight. The next attack is supposed to happen next weekend in one of the taverns outside the town’s walls. 

"Perfect, that gives us time to make a plan beforehand," Adriael nods while smiling. "How should we proceed?"

"We tell the people to leave this time," Persephone says rather serious.

"What if we let them do their thing and follow them afterwards?" Marga suggests.

"What a great idea Marga!!" Félix compliments her while wagging his tail. She smiles, blushing a little.

"Sounds good to me," Pego and the rest agree with Marga’s plan.

Understood. You prepare all the necessary things for your plan and wait for the weekend…

***

The monsters have raided the entire tavern and they start to leave, following the path that goes to the forest. As expected, they seem to be carrying all the food they could find inside. What do you do?

"We follow them!"

Ok, everyone roll stealth!

Adriael: [18]

"Woooooooow way to go Queen!!"

"She’s the only capable member of this team."

Marga: [5]

"Uupps… sorry everyone," Marga smiles sheepishly.

Pego: [3] 

"YOU’RE THE FREAKING ROGUE DAMMIT!!!!"

"The dices hate me," Pego says quietly.

Robin: [8]

"This is not looking good…."

Félix: [9]

"Oh no…"

Persephone: [8]

"Me too?!?"

Tauros: [4]

"What the hell?!"

Eran: [1]

"..."

"Seriously…?"

"That’s the second one today..."

….. All right, so you TRY to follow them, but you can’t seem to shut up and are found out on the spot. Roll for initiative!!

***

So, you managed to defeat all of the monsters, though you all look a bit left for worst. What do you want to do now?

"Have we at least seen what direction they were heading? Can we roll to see if we figure out where it is more or less?" Persephone asks, looking through her inventory for some kind of potion. Félix’s out of healing spells already. 

Sure, someone roll a survival check.

"Let me do it! I know this forest quite well," Marga volunteers and throws the dice.

"Come oooooon Margaaaaaa!!!" Tauros cheers her on.

[9]

"Aaaaahhh maaaaan…" Tauros laments as Marga throws the dice to the other side of the room. Everyone falls silent.

Aamm… I’ll let someone else roll too.

"Adriael please.. you’re the only one with good rolls…." Persephone almost begs her.

[18]

"HOW THE FUCK DO YOU DO THAT?!?!?!?"

"I didn’t do anything! I just rolled the dice!" Adriael responds a bit flustered. 

Great, that’s awesome! So with the help of Marga you manage to find the tracks they left when they made their way onto town, and you follow them. After an hour/hour and a half you get to an area of the forest more dense than any other, very close to the mountain. 

"Pego, go ahead and scout please," Robin turns to him and asks.

"I’m scared to roll again…" Persephone whispers while Pego readies to throw.

"Wait wait wait!! I’ll cast blessing of the Trickster on him! You have advantage on stealth," Félix tells him as he places one of his paws on his wrist.

[18]

[14]

"Thank god…" everyone lets out a sigh of relief.

Ok, let me roll first… [4]. Great, so you get into this dense area and head towards the mountain base, and hidden behind a rather thick and tall tree, you find a cave. The monster tracks lead inside. When you get close and inspect, you find an enormous pile of food, some fresh and some rotten, and a large shadow resting on top of it. What do you do?

"Can I try to see if I can figure out what that shadow is?"

Roll perception.

[16]

From the figure’s silhouette, you can make out two horns, a thin tail, and a huge body covered in fur.

"... I turn back and report."

Ok, you’re all gathered again. What do you do?

"Pretty sure we’ll have to fight that thing… but some of you are hurt. Maybe we should rest?" Tauros proposes, though he seems rather nervous. 

"Yes, I think that would be best… We should take watches to make sure no monsters ambush us during the night," Adriael suggests this to the whole party and they agree.

So, you find a more secluded area inside this deep forest and take watches during the night. It goes uneventful. The sun rises, do you head to the cave?

"HELL YEAAAAHH!!! LET’S DOOOO THIIIIS!!"

***

So, Persephone, as you cast you last firebolt, the Belphegor starts screaming loudly, and as he’s slowly consumed by the fleams you hear him saying: “Forgive me Masters, I won’t be able to serve you anymore… I hope my last offering is enough to satisfy you”.

"... 'Masters'?" Eran repeats looking at the floor with a troubled expression.

"So he wasn’t the one controlling the monsters? The food wasn’t for him?" Marga questions as she looks at the rest of her team.

"Makes sense that he didn’t eat it then, some of it is already rotten… Can we investigate the cave for some more information?" Félix asks.

Go ahead.

[18]

Besides the food, you don’t find anything else.

"Wow, really? The roll was super high..."

"This is weird..."

"Let’s get back and report," everyone follows Pego’s lead and they return to town.

Once you get to the government building and report your battle with the Belphegor, they thank you again and inform you that they tried to figure out who the anonymous informer was but found nothing, and think it’s rather suspicious.

Sensing that without a leader, the monsters harassing Yogen would be no more, you’re send upper north to keep investigating, as information of similar occurrences happening in a small village near a swamp has been heard all around town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the first quest! How was it? This chapter is longer than the other two, but I wanted to finish this first quest now. Please, make sure to check out the next chapter, since there’s a little surprise for you!  
> Thanks to everyone who read the first two chapters, especially to the two lovely people that left a comment! <3 I really appreciated it, I hope that you keep reading and enjoying the fic!  
> See you in the next chapter!
> 
> PS: *threatening d20 with a knife* you better start rolling better or down the sink it is with you.  
> Also I was actually SWEATING after those horrible stealth rolls and Marga’s failed survival check… I literally prayed so that Adriael would get a good roll or else I didn’t know what to do to get them to the cave. I can see now that she’s my overleveled character (the power of monks).  
> I didn’t want to make actual character sheets for all of them, but maybe I should do it...


	4. The spoils of battle

And so, you managed to fight off the dangers threatening Yogen, and as promised, are rewarded for it. Not as much as you expected, since the investigation is not closed after all, but you still get a bit of money to encourage you to keep working hard and prepare yourselves for future struggles. You all make your way down the local magic shop and look at what they have on store. Upon asking the clerk, they show you these items…:

  * Wand of smiles: If you point at a creature within 30 feet of you with this wand, they must succeed a charisma saving throw of DC 13 or start laughing during 1 minute. While laughing, the creature is incapable of any type of meaningful communication. It has 5 charges per day.
  * Thief’s goggles: They allow the user to see inside someone else’s pockets. The goggles can’t detect if an item is magical or not.
  * Bag of surprises: Once per day, you can pull a paper from the bag. If you fail a wisdom saving throw of DC 12, whatever is written on the paper will affect you for 24h. Basically, it’s like a prank bag.
  * Ring of guidance: It’s just a lantern. You can change the light’s colours. It can also make disco lights.
  * Pocket spa: A small spa located in a pocket dimension. It can fit up to 4 people. It has a sauna, a small swimming pool, a massage room, and a cocktail bar in the main hall, with a rest area.
  * Mixed jelly beans jar: When you eat a jelly bean, you roll a d20 and get a random change to you voice up to 24 h.
  * Magical beasts and critters encyclopedia: Allows you to summon a random animal. 1 use only. The animal disappears after 8 hours.
  * Enchanted origami paper: Whatever you create with this paper gains mobility until it’s destroyed. 3 sheets.
  * Communication notebook: Whatever’s written on this notebook (max 25 words) will reach any chosen target within 120 feet.



From the 9 items presented in front of you, you can choose 3 of them. They’ll be added to the party’s equipment, and can be used by anyone. Keep in mind that all the items you don’t get won’t be on the store next time you come around. Choose carefully. So, which ones do you want?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the surprise! You, my dear readers, are the ones who will choose which items our group of adventurers get!  
>  **You can cast your vote[HERE](https://linkto.run/p/XX0QWO5F)**, and the top 3 ones will be the ones selected. I tried to think of funny items that would add some shenanigans to the story. You’ll have until **August 8th** to vote, since I need to know the results before I start writing the next quest. Please, **CHOOSE ONLY 3 ITEMS**. I can’t seem to figure out how to limit the choices to only 3, so I ask you to play fair and choose only 3 of them, or else this little thing I planned for all of us to enjoy won’t work.  
> These types of polls will occur at the end of each quest, so I encourage you to suggest some new items for the next shopping trip! I want you all to be part of the story as well, so that you can feel it’s yours too.  
> Chapter 5 is already written. I’ll probably post it in a week.  
> Lots of luw, kisses and all that. Have a great week! <3  
> PS: Yes, I stole that pocket spa from Taako.


	5. Why don't we play a game?

"So… do you all remember how Makoto said we should have some kind of 'team building' exercise?" Futaba asks, dangerously parched on a chair.

"Do you have any suggestions?" Ann answers, busy sharing a bag of some salty snacks with Yusuke.

"Why don’t we play D&D?!" she says, excitement plaster all over her face

"Wha’s that?"

"Oh, a game? It sure sounds like fun!" Ryuji and Haru comment respectively at the suggestion.

"So," Futaba readjusts her posture on the chair. "Basically, it’s like and RPG: you create your character –with a class, race and all that- and just, go on quests and defeat monsters! Now, the cool part about it it’s that it’s all done in pen and paper, ‘cause it’s a table top game. You just roll some dice and decide on what to do in real time! Sounds like fun, huh?"

"Well... it does sound like we could be able to practice tactics and strategies..." Makoto thinks aloud, pondering Futaba’s words.

"I knew some people who played while I was in the States. It’s not that popular here in Japan."

"Sooooo...... how about it? Let’s do iiiit!!!"

"Fine by me," the first words Akira speaks since quite a while.

"How do we play?" chimes Morgana, plopping onto the table.

"Once you have your character, you only need to roll the dice and see if what you wanted to do -be it fight, investigate something or whatever– is successful and you can progress. It’s grate practice to make decisions on the spot! So yeah, basically just roll the dice and do some quick math."

"Mmmh.... sounds nerdy," Ryuji whispers, looking down at the manga he’s been reading on Akira’s bed with a frown.

"Come ooooon it’s fun!! Don’t be such a party-popper!"

"I think it would be nice to at least try it and see how it goes. So we just need some dice?" Makoto seems rather intrigued by the idea.

"Yeah, but they’re kind of special because there’s multiple ones with several sides. You can find a set on the Internet pretty easily."

"Oh... I don’t know if I’ll be able to buy them... though I would like to try this game..." Yusuke casts a rather troubled glance to the now empty bag of snacks.

"I’ll get you one," Akira says immediately, to which Yusuke looks at him.

"I couldn’t possibly..."

"OK SO YEAH let’s do the first practice session this weekend! We can decide on the characters and everything then! I’ll be de DM."

"DM?"

"DUNGEON MASTER!!" Futaba stands on the chair and proclaims with a loud voice.

"Oh, I can’t wait to play!" Haru claps excitedly.

"... Whatever, I’m no coming," Ryuji gets up from the bed. "Gotta get going, see you tomorrow at school."

Akira looks at him while he leaves, squinting his eyes. Futaba also looks at him go with a hurt look on her face, but then turns to face the rest of the group.

"I’ll send you a guide with some info about character creation so that you can have a look and be prepared for the weekend."

After that, everyone starts leaving Leblanc and heading back home. Once they’re alone, Akira turns to Futaba.

"Ryuji was acting weird, right?"

"Yeah, he said he didn’t wanna play... I thought he’d be on board with the idea..."

"Mmhhh..." Akira answers, deep in thought.

***

**[New message] Akira to Ryuji:**

**Akira (21:06):** Why don’t you want to play?

**Ryuji (21:13):** Huh?

**Akira (21:14):** You like games, so why not play? Isn’t it better than the other ideas the girls proposed?

**Ryuji (21:16):** I just don’t wanna dude, leave it be

**Akira (21:17):** You’re not fooling me. It’s ok if you don’t want to tell me, but I think we’ll all have fun with it.

**Ryuji (21:38):** ... Futaba said we had to do math, right?

**Akira (21:39):** Yes? What does that have to do with anything?

**Ryuji (21:41):** I’m super bad at math dude! And at strategy, or other “smart” things... I don’t want the others to laugh at me

**Akira (21:41):** Do you really think they would?

**Ryuji (21:42):** ... maybe?

**Akira (21:44):** Seriously? Our friends? Laugh at you because you can’t do quick math?

**Ryuji (21:45):** Yeah, maybe not...

**Akira (21:46):** Let’s just see how it goes on the weekend and then decide if you want to play or not

**Akira (21:46)** : If we’re not all on board, we’ll change to something else, ok?

**Ryuji (21:47):** ‘kay... thanks dude

**Ryuji (21:51):** Will you buy me the dice too?

**Akira (21:53):** No

**Ryuji (21:54):** Just ‘cause Yusuke’s pretty...

**Ryuji (21:54):** See you tomorrow

**Akira (21:59):** Night

***

**[New message] Makoto to Phantom Thieves:**

**Makoto (22:15):** Should we ask Akechi to join us?

**Futaba (22:15):** Ugh... do we have to?

**Makoto (22:16):** It could be a nice way to get to know him and see what he’s scheming

**Akira (22:18):** I agree with Makoto. We should.

**Ryuji (22:20):** Don’t know man, he makes me so mad... but I guess that if it’d help us...

**Futaba (22:21):** YOU UP FOR THE GAME?!?!

**Ryuji (22:22):** Sure, guess I can try

**Futaba (22:22):** (((o(*°▽°*)o)))

**Yusuke (22:24):** If our leader thinks so, I don’t see why not.

**_(Akira liked Yusuke’s message)_ **

**Ann (22:25):** Well, technically, he IS part of the Phantom Thieves

**Haru (22:30):** Fine by me (^ ω ^)

**Futaba (22:31):** I’ll make him choose the worst character

**Makoto (22:45):** Understood, I’ll contact him.

***

"Ok, so did you see anything you liked on the guides? You should pick a class first and then the race."

"I think I’d like to be a druid! Doesn’t it suit me?" Haru giggles, writing happily on her character sheet.

"Yes, quite perfectly actually," Makoto smiles at her. "I think I’ll go with monk, since it’s similar to me as well."

"Alright, Haru’s a druid, Makoto’s a monk... Ryuji a barbarian..."

"HEY!!! I get to choose too!!!"

"Come on, would you seriously play anything else?"

"Well... I was kinda eyeing it..."

"See..?" Futaba sighs. "What about you, leader?"

"Rogue."

"... For real?" Akira just nods. "It looks like these are just your alter egos!" Futaba fumes a bit, but writes it down nonetheless.

"I think I want to be a wizard! I’m like, super good with magic anyway..." Ann says, failing at hiding her obvious excitement.

"For me, I shall go with a bard. Being the one who gives inspiration for once sounds rather interesting," Yusuke explains while smiling somewhat proudly.

"Cool..." Futaba rapidly writes all of these down. "We still need someone who can focus on healing magic."

"Then I’ll be the healer! You always depend on me anyways!" Morgana puffs his chest out with a soft laugh.

"Mona’s the cleric... and you, Akechi?"

"This 'warlock' class seems versatile with magic and physical attacks, so I’ll go with that," Akechi says, with a smile a bit too wide.

"Awesome! Now for the races..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RYUJI BABY BOY :(((((((( no one would laugh at you… Akira explained the situation to everyone in private and they all agreed to help and support Ryuji so that he wouldn’t be uncomfortable at the table (if Akechi ever dares laugh at him Akira’ll pull a knife from his pocket and stab him).
> 
> I don’t know if you’d be interested, but if someone wants to know more about the reasoning behind the races and names, maybe I can post a little note somewhere?
> 
> We’ll start a new quest on the next chapter! Please look forward to it! And remember, **you still have some time to[VOTE](https://www.poll-maker.com/poll2438932x1cE44D33-69)** **for which 3 items you want our group to buy!** **Voting ends August 8th!** Once I have the results, I’ll start writing the next chapter. I’ll try to have it done for next Monday, though I can’t make any promises. If not on Monday, I’ll make sure to have it before the week ends, at least.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading, and have a lovely day! <3


	6. In murky waters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is me, I am here, and here’s the new chapter!  
> Guess what you guys. Guess what we have now…  
> CHARACTER SHEETS!!! I know right, so exciting! That’s why you’ll see some higher rolls during this chapter.  
> I’ll post some notes and disclaimers about them at the end notes.  
> Without further ado… enjoy the extra long chapter!

So, our dear group of adventurers. After successfully defeating the monsters harassing your hometown, rumours have brought you to the northern swamp village of Juku, where similar accidents seem to be happening. After half a week of traveling, you finally make it there. Once you get into town, it’s easy to feel the concern and gloom of the villagers in the air; they are few, and even fewer seem happy to see strangers in town. You’re free to go wherever you’d like. So, what do you want to do?

"Ok… I think we should ask around and see what’s really been going on…" Persephone says turning to the group, already dice in hand. "Is there someone around where we are? Can I talk to them?"

First, make a persuasion roll for me.

"Persuasion…? I just want to talk…"

[5]

No one wants to talk to you.

"WHAT?! Come on…!!"

"Could I try?" asks Margarita, seeing the situation.

"No, wait, your persuasion is -1! Pego, you do it…"

Ok, I’ll allow one more roll and that’s it. If you fail, the rest of the villagers will run from you.

"Come oooooooon duuuude!!!" Tauros starts shaking Pego violently by the shoulder, and he simply nods and throws his black dice on the table.

[23]

"As expected," Eran compliments him, nodding approvingly.

Alright, so this time you approach a young woman who’s willing to share their pain with the strangers that seemingly came to help them. What do you want to ask her?

"What’s exactly happening, where, since when, if there are survivors, and if they’ve seen the monsters."

Ok… so, she tells you that, as far as she knows, the attacks have been happening for over a month now. Every boat that goes into the largest lake near the village gets sunken, and all the fishermen in them disappear. No bodies have been found. In the last couple of week, the attacks have been happening even outside the lake’s waters, so the area surrounding the main lake has been banned and no one dares approach it. 

"Uuggh… I don’t look forward to that…" Félix grimaces, scrunching his nose at the mere mention of the swampy area.

"Well, there’s little else to do than to investigate more. I think we should try to talk a bit more with other villagers…" Adriael suggest.

"I think that’s rather wise. Maybe an investigation of the area near the attacks could tell us something about the monsters we’ll be facing, too," Eran adds to her comment.

"Alright, let’s form two teams again… One should talk more to the people in town and the other investigates the surroundings. Do NOT get close to the main lake, it’s too dangerous to go without the full party… just the areas next to it should be enough," Adriael voices her plan to the whole table.

"Ok, and once we’re finished we can go see the big lake. So, how are we splitting this time?"

"Pego needs to be in the group that stays in town, that’s for sure. The rest can go wherever, I think. I’ll stay in town too," Persephone proposes.

"Since I suggested it, I’ll go with the lake investigation team," Eran says.

"I’m going with you as well! I think my knowledge of nature may be of help," Margarita responds and smiles, doing a small encouraging gesture with her hand.

"I stay in town, no swamp or lake or whatever for me…" Félix keeps scrunching his nose and shivers a little.

"I’m swamp!" Tauros proclaims loudly.

"I’ll be joining the swamp team too," Robins says as well, spearing an annoyed side-glance at Tauro’s loud voice. 

"Great, I’m staying in town then. Let’s meet here again once we’re done," everyone nods to Adriael’s words.

All right, so let’s go with… town team first. What exactly do you want to do?

"Maybe we should find a tavern or inn and go ask there? Or talk to the rest of the fishermen in town," Persephone says. "To the tavern!!"

Ok, since Pego rolled so well last time I’ll say you asked the same person and easily found your way to the only tavern in the village, which also functions as a small inn. Once you get inside, you notice that, even though it’s not a very big establishment, it’s mostly empty. Besides the owners, there are only two other patrons.

"Let’s talk to the owners first, yeah? Go Pego go!" Persephone cheerfully says to him while shoving him slightly on the back, as if guiding him to the counter.

"Ok… Hi, we came to help. What’s with the monsters?"

Wow.

"Smooth…"

"Shouldn’t you introduce yourself first…?"

Ok, make another persuasion roll.

"Another?!?! Why?!" Persephone says loudly with a frustrated tint in her voice.

Because he’s a rude boy! What do you expect if you just walk up to someone and do that!

[12]

Mmmhh… ok. They just tell you "What’s with the monsters? They’re killing all of us, that’s what’s up!" and turns to go to the kitchen, leaving you alone there.

"Great…" Adriael sights and puts a hand to her forehead. "Let’s try talking to one of the patrons…"

"Maybe I can try? I want to order something to drink and go to one of them," Félix says as he plays with one of the dice with his paw. "I say… Hi, sorry to bother you. Here. And I give them the drink. We were sent here to investigate the monster’s that are attacking the village and I was hoping you could tell us something about it?"

I see… since you bought them the drink, I’ll let you roll with advantage.

"Nyahahahaha! No one can resist my charms!" Félix smiles rather smug and throws one dice at a time with his mouth. 

[10]

[3]

"They don’t look very 'charmed'..." Tauros murmurs looking at the dice, which earns him and annoyed hiss.

Alright, so they tell you more or less the same as the woman you talked to earlier. You gather that maybe they don’t know much else, since they’re all too scared to get close to the lake and figure out what’s in there.

"Ok… So are there any fishermen they might know that we can talk to?"

They’re a fisher.

"Oh, great! So, at what time did the ones that got attacked usually go? Like, a specific time of day or…?"

Well, all the fishing is usually done in the early hours of the morning. There are several groups that rotate and they all have selected days of the week to go fish. 3 groups of the 7 in the village have all been wiped out. They use normal fishing rods and use small boats that can probably fit 5 people, and tour the whole lake to see what they can find. It’s been almost 2 weeks since anyone went there, and the attacks on the surrounding areas started a week ago.

"I see..."

"Mmhh… I think that’s all we need for now. Let’s go meet with the others," Adriael suggest and everyone follows her lead.

Wait, before you leave… Félix roll a charisma check for me.

"Charisma…"

[8]

Ok, nothing.

"What, why what was that for!"

Nothing, nothing. Ok, let’s go with lake team then. So, surrounding the village, there are around 4 smaller lakes that are too shallow to produce any fish, but their swampy outskirts are used to plan some plants and vegetables. Once you get there, you actually find some farmers finish their business for the day. It looks like they tried to fish up something from these smaller lakes, but judging by how empty their bags are, it doesn’t seem like it went too well.

"All right, let’s approach them and ask."

Whoever’s talking, make a persuasion roll.

"Please, allow me to do it," Eran says, a hand on his chest. "I wish to approach them and greet them."

Ok, you do so. They greet you back.

"Very sorry to interrupt you, but I wish to inquire some things. May I bother you for a few moments?"

Make your persuasion roll. 

[12]

All right…. they’re listening to you for now.

"We hail from Yogen, to the south. Some accidents similar to the ones that you’re suffering from were occurring there as well, and our group was tasked with investigating them. Since we couldn’t arrive to any satisfactory conclusions with the information we gather in our hometown, we headed here in hopes to lend some sort of aid and help you with your predicament. I would like to ask you tell me any knowledge you may have of these terrible attacks, so that it might help us accomplish our goals."

Very well... besides the information you already have, they also tell you that all the fish they managed to retrieve from the main lake were all half eaten or very badly damaged, and none could be used as proper food anymore. Also, it seems like the water of the lake has gotten… murkier, since the attacks began. That’s all you gather from that roll.

"I see. Thank you very much, I hope we can ask for you help again, if it’s ever needed," Eran smiles softly and slightly bows his head.

Roll a charisma really quick for me.

"Understood," Eran nods and does as he’s told.

[17]

They says that, even if they DO NOT recommend you go to the main lake, if you really need to get close to it and enter the waters they can lend you a boat. 

"That would be most helpful!" Margarita cheers up and claps softly. "But we would need two, right? For the others as well."

Okay, two boats. They can have them ready for you tomorrow morning.

"I think we’re done here… Do you want to look at anything else or should we go back?" Robin asks to the rest of the group.

"I want to take a quick look at the swamps and the lakes, if it’s ok. I want to know if they look normal or if there’s anything weird with them," Margarita asks, ready to throw.

Make a nature check.

[16]

Nothing out of the ordinary.

"Oh..."

"All right, let’s all get back."

"Thank GOD, let’s go get some action!!" Tauros burst out, seemingly getting board with all the stillness.

Ok, you all reconvene back in town and exchange the information you found. What do you want to do next?

"Should we go see what’s it like in the main lake or should we go tomorrow, when we have the boats?" Persephone turns to the group and waits for their replies.

"When we get there, we’ll probably have to fight… What time is it now?"

The sun’s setting,.

"It’s pretty late already... Let’s stay at the inn we went before and rest until tomorrow. We should try to go investigate at the same time the attacks usually happen, so early in the morning."

Ok. The inn’s pretty small, you can only rent 1 room for the night.

"Fiiiine…. we’ll share…"

So, you all turn in?

"WAIT!!!" Tauros slams the table and looks at the rest of them. "Isn’t now the perfect time to check out the sick shit we got in Yogen after we left?"

"Oh yeah, we didn’t get to look at them yet…"

Oh yeah, here you go! These are the three things you got: the thief’s goggles, the communication notebook, and the pocket spa. 

"I call the spa!!!" Persephone launches herself over the table and grabs the small piece of paper.

"Hey, I want to use it too!!" Tauros gets over her and tries to take it from her.

"Stop, stop!! You’ll spill the coffee all over!!" Margarita tries to separate them while Pego holds four cups of coffee on his hands.

The items are for everyone!! You’ll all get to use them! 

"Ok, so, who wants to go to the spa?!" Persephone asks with a victorious smile on her face, since she’s still holding the piece of paper with the information. "It says here it can only fit 4 people at a time."

"We’re 8, right? Let’s split and take turns with it," Adriael suggests getting her coffee back from Pego.

Ok, let’s do this. You each get a number and I’ll roll a d8 to see who goes first. Let’s see… You get these numbers:

Pego: 1

Tauros: 2

Félix: 3

Persephone: 4

Eran: 5

Adriael: 6

Marga: 7

Robin: 8

Let’s roll!!

[2]

"Fuck yeah!!" Tauros yells while sticking his tongue out to Persephone, who rolls her eyes.

[1]

"Cool."

[3]

"Nyahahahaha! Come on, lady Ann should join us now!!" Félix says while blushing slightly.

"Roll a 5," Pego murmurs, muffling his voice in his cup of coffee.

[8]

"...."

"..."

"Well…. seems I’m the one joining you," Robin says while facing them, though the smile on his face is not one would call 'happy'.

"Aah… so, what do we do in here?" Tauros asks, not as hyped as he was before.

What do you do on a freaking spa, Ryuji?

"I call the sauna," Pego says quickly.

"Massage room!!" Félix follows suite.

"Is there food in here? I want food," Tauros says still a bit deflated.

I guess they would have some snacks on the cocktail bar.

"Hell yeah, food and a soda!!"

You didn’t need to come here for that… And you, Robin?

"Looks like the only free spot is the swimming pool, so I’ll go there."

Are you not going to talk to each other?

"No," Pego says.

"Yeah!!" Tauros says at the same time. "I go to the sauna with food."

"I stay getting pet..MASSAGED, massaged!!" Félix quickly corrects himself.

"I’ll stay on the pool as well."

Well, I’ll say that since you all relaxed in there, you’ll have advantage on you initiative rolls tomorrow.

"HAH, so we ARE going to fight!!!" Tauros says, actually spitting some of the potato chips he had been eating.

Wow, smart. So, are the rest of you doing anything while they’re in there?

"I want to check out the other things. How do these goggles work?" Adriael says, picking up the paper with the item description.

You just put them on.

"I want to do that. What do I see?"

I don’t know, who are you looking at?

"Margarita, what do you have in your pockets?"

"Oh, I don’t know… some flowers, some good berries…a knife maybe..."

"Eran?"

"I guess you could see music sheets and the instruments I hold in my bag…"

"I want to scan the whole room, if I can."

Ok. Wait…. did you guys leave your cloaks and other clothes out when you entered the spa?

"I… guess?" says Félix confused.

You too, Robin?

"Yes…?"

Adriael, you don’t notice anything out of the ordinary on the room, but when you glance at the direction of Robin’s clothes, you find a folded piece of paper in the inside pocket of his robe. It seems to be well hidden between the folds of cloth.

"WHAT," Tauros yells.

"Can I… can I check it out…?"

"Am, privacy?" Robin says, with a slight irritated tone in his voice. 

Make a slight of hand check to see if you can take it out without making it obvious that you touched it.

"Oh lord…" Adriael grimaces while throwing. 

[9]

"Uuufff…"

Mmhh… we’ll have Robin do a perception check to see if he notices it. So, you retrieve the paper. Do you read it?

"Yes."

It says:

_Find them quickly, we don’t have much time. Make sure to get on their good side, we need them. I’m counting on you._

"What is that?"

"I come out of the spa," Robin suddenly says.

"I quickly put it back in place!" Adriael responds, rather nervous.

Robin, roll your perception check. 

[6]

Everything’s fine.

"Tsk," Robin says quietly.

"I run inside the spa," Adriale quickly says.

"Yeah, let’s all go in!" Persephone follows after her.

Right, so now is your turn. Do you all go to separate places?

"No, let’s make a tour all together!! Well… Eran, you wait until we’re finished…"

"Why?"

"Because we’re naked in here, duh!"

"I can’t actually see you, this is only narrative. I don’t see why-"

"Just wait, ok?!" Persephone says a bit flustered.

"Mmh… may I at least sing while I wait on the lounge? Seems like I haven’t done that enough, being a bard and all."

Sure, roll performance.

[5]

… Looks like you’re out of practice. Since Eran’s music is not very good, you can’t completely relax and don’t get the advantage on initiative.

"I truly apologise…" Eran says, looking sad.

"Don’t worry, you’ll do better next time!" Margarita tries to cheer him up.

"While we’re here… I’d like to tell the group what I found on Robin’s clothes. Loud enough, so that Eran also hears," Adriael says, avoiding eye contact with Robin, who’s across the table. "It was a note that talked about meeting with someone and getting on their good side…"

"Do you think it meant us?" Margarita says.

"If I remember correctly, he was pretty willing to join Adriael when we created the investigation team, and seemed to have quite a bit of information about the attacks. Maybe it’s referring to Yogen’s government instead?"

Wow Inari, good memory.

"A keen eye and a keen memory are musts for any aspiring artists," Eran says, nodding proudly.

"Maybe that’s what he wants…" Persephone says, pensive.

"Let’s try to keep an eye out," Adrial suggests, and they all agree. "Also, let’s keep it between us," Tauros murmurs softly on the background, disappointed he’s not getting the info. 

"Can we check out the notebook while they’re in there?" Félix says, once their conversation seems over.

Sure. You pull it out, seems like a normal notebook.

"I want to write something on it. Hi.. or… no no no, I write 'I’ll steal your heart'!!"

You write it. Where do you want to send it?

"Mmhh… to Pego?"

Pego, you hear “I’ll steal your heart” in your head with Félix’s voice. Once you receive the message, the paper where it was written burns and disappears. You have one less page.

"It has uses?!"

Of course.

"Ok… only use it when necessary. Got it."

So, we’re done for the evening?

"I guess so… let’s go to sleep."

Well… after all that, next morning comes. You wanted to wake up before the sun came up, right? So, with a bit of effort… all of you manage to get up and you make your way to the main lake. When you get to the outskirts of it, you find the two small boats you procured the day before.

"Nice!!"

You have to drag the boats with you to the lake. 

"I got it!!" Tauros rolls up his sleeves. "Adriael gets the other one!"

"I’m not that strong… can someone help me?"

"Oh, I’m pretty strong! I will!" Margarita smiles and joins Adriael.

Ok, Tauros roll a strength check.

[19]

Well done! 

"I will fucking suplex the boat."

"Don’t," Adriael glares at him and he quickly lowers his arms. "Ok… we roll now…"

You can both roll or one of you rolls with advantage.

"Let’s both roll and have a small competition," Margarita suggests, smile still on her face.

"That sounds like fun. Let’s do it. I’ll go first then."

[3]

"Ayay..."

[15]

"My victory," Margarita giggles happily, to which Adriael slightly blushes.

So, Margarita you can carry this boat all by yourself, but you let Adriael 'help' you just to make her feel a bit better. On your way to the lake, you notice that the land surrounding it has all vegetation heavily damaged. The earth is very wet and swampy too, covered in mug. It’s quite difficult to walk on honestly.

"Can we see what damaged the plants?" Félix asks.

Yeah, make a… survival check.

[12]

It’s pretty messed up and it’s hard to see, but it looks like maybe an animal did it? Not natural, that’s for sure.

"Ok…"

So, you get to the lake. As the fishermen told you, the water is incredibly murky. It’s impossible to see beneath it, and it’s covered with dead fish and destroyed plants.

"Grate… sounds like fun…" Persephone says to herself, a bit disgusted.

"So… we place the boats on the water?" Margarita asks.

Ok, you have them there. Do you get in?

"Sure, what else is there to do," Tauros shrugs. "I get in."

"Can I make a check on the water to see if I can tell what’s making it so dark?" Margarita says.

Yeah, roll nature.

[8]

You don’t know, but it seems pretty dirty.

"All right…"

"Let’s all get in and get into the water. Let’s stay on guard, everybody," all the group nods to Adriael words.

So, you split into two teams and row your way into the lake. You go for 5, 10, 15…. around 30 minutes pass and you’re almost in the middle of the lake. As you move, you notice that the water is thicker than normal water. And there doesn’t seem to be any other movement besides the one your boats make. Also, the deeper you get into the lake, the less and less dead fish you find on the surface.

"Can I wiggle the row in the water? Does something happen?" Persephone asks.

Nothing at all.

"I throw a rock then. Something?"

Nope.

"Mmmhh…"

"... I want to dip my hand into the water," Pego says.

"Don’t d-"

"I put my hand into the water."

"DON’T."

Ok, you put it in. Nothing happens.

"...Nothing?"

"Thank god, get it out right now!!"

"What are we supposed to do…? Marga, do you have som-?"

Pego, as you’re about the get your hand out, something very slimy grabs your wrist and pulls you into the water. 

"AAAAAHHH!!!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"

"PEGO!!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I speed wrote this on Saturday morning and didn’t expect to write this much. I apologize if it’s a bit meh, I tried my best to have it all done for Monday.
> 
> So, about the character sheets. I did them all following a guide, with the most basic stuff, without equipping them or choosing spells or anything. I didn’t put a lot of effort into them (they’re 8 characters…), so don’t expect anything super awesome cool amazing mega wow. I want to revise them and maybe touch up some things, but I’ll do it when I have some free time. That’s why I’ll wait to post them after they’re complete (in case any of you want to check them out). But now, we can level our party up as we progress with the story! I think it will be easier for me to write the whole thing with these.  
> Also, I wanted to mention that this quest (and all the rest following it) is taken from a campaign setting book, since I couldn’t spend even more time trying to come up with interesting adventures. I just made some minor changes to adapt it to our plot and party’s objectives. I’ll properly credit each one of them once they’re finished. 
> 
> Next chapter is almost finished, hope you all look forward to it! Have a nice week! 
> 
> PS: 13 people voted, I’m so happy! <3 Thank you all so much for participating! I wanted to write something more elaborate for the spa scene, but alas… I didn’t have enough time. Also, it looks like someone chose more than 3 items… please, make sure to follow the rules established, or I won’t be able to keep doing these in the future.


	7. Fitting in

**[New message] Makoto to Goro**

**Makoto (23:03):** We are meeting next week to discuss our characters for a game of Dungeons & Dragons we’ll start playing. Would you like to join?

…Dungeons and what? What the hell is that? Is this really how the Phantom Thieves spend their time, playing tabletop games? This is exasperating. Frustrating even. 

He doesn’t want to go. Spending time with them is exhausting. Having to keep his act up all the time is exhausting.

But he doesn’t really have a choice, does he…? 

**Goro (23:21):** I’ve never played before, but it sounds interesting. When are we meeting?

***

It’s even worse than he thought it would be.

First, he had to spend hours preparing this stupid character, reading Futaba’s guide and even searching for more information online (he had to seem “interested”, after all). He then finds out that none of the others had prepared even half as much as he had.

Second, he has a splitting headache that keeps getting stronger with Ryuji’s and Morgana’s constant yelling. How did he end up spending his free day here?

Third, this extremely bitter coffee is only making his mood worse. Do they not know what sugar is in this damn store, or did they do it on purpose? 

And finally, he needs to deal with the Thieves with a smile on his face. The lot of them just make his anger perk up with their mere presence, and their leader specifically is very good at that. Just seeing his silhouette makes him want to scream, it almost seems like he’s doing it on purpose.

But he clearly isn’t, because he’s way too busy paying his full attention to the artist of the group. Just when he thinks his anger has reached its peak, Akira has to flash that stupid, lop-sided smirk to the blue-haired boy, who obliviously smiles back at him.

His blood is boiling. He doesn’t know what annoys him more, Akira’s poorly hidden flirting, or Yusuke’s complete ignorance of it.

"... and you, Akechi?"

Futaba’s voice takes him out of his internal ranting. He checks if he still has a smile on his face before answering. 

"This 'warlock' class seems versatile with magic and physical attacks, so I’ll go with that."

"Awesome! Now for the races…"

"Oh oh oh, I definitely want to be a half-elf," Ann proclaims loudly, seemingly very sure of her decision. 

"I think that really suits you!" Futaba express her approval and writes it down. "I think Inari should be one too, or an elf, ‘cause he’s pretty, and arrogant."

Half the room seems to voice their agreement, Akira nodding his head several times rather effusively at the first part. 

Akechi needs to control his left eyebrow from twitching with anger.

"Thank you…?" Yusuke says, not sure if he should truly be thankful or not.

"Which ones are like, the elvest of the elves? The super elves?" Ryuji asks, eloquent as ever.

"Mmhh... Eladrians maybe?" Futaba answers back with a confused expression.

"Yeah, Yusuke should be that."

"Well, I don’t mind either way, so fine by me," Yusuke says to them, not really concerned about it.

"Ok, do you have names too?"

"Yeah, mine’s Persephone!"

"Oh, it sounds lovely!" Haru says to Ann with a warm smile.

"I have mine as well, it’s Eran. Akira helped me choose it. I quite like it, as it’s both elegant and simple at the same time." Yusuke explains, eyes closed and a serene expression on his face.

"Yeah, just like you. It really suits you," Akira responds, smiling at him.

The whole room falls into and awkward silence. Yusuke opens his eyes, looking at Akira, and smiles back at him after a moment.

Akechi feels himself holding back from facepalming. This is going to be a nightmare. 

"Oooooooookkk…." Futaba drags the words for far too long and glues her eyes to her notes, eyebrows raised. "Who’s next…?"

***

The first game wasn’t so bad. It was quite entertaining, actually. But he would never admit that. It was probably all thanks to Futaba anyway, the rest of the group had been just as annoying as ever.

He wishes he had an excuse to avoid the post-game dinner though. He’s been keeping up this forced smile for too long, his cheeks hurt. Thankfully, the curry is good enough that it helps him keep the light-hearted attitude for the rest of the evening. Having Akira out of his visual range also helps. He just hopes the game will be shorter next time.

***

They’re a few sessions in, and it’s getting difficult to deny how much he likes the stupid game. The others seem to think the same, as the topic of conversations in Mementos has changed into strategies and roll discussions, now much more light and full of laughter.

Everyone eagerly waits for the weekend. He does too.

The weekly game sessions also helped him get to know all the Thieves a bit better, which… actually helps him hold his ground with them, since they got slightly less annoying.

Ryuji’s still a loudmouth, but he’s also quite caring, in his own aggressive way.

Morgana’s smarter than he first thought, and actually knows what he’s talking about, sometimes. Akechi wants to try petting him too.

Ann’s not just purely looks. She knows how to make herself heard and be respected.

Makoto’s stronger on her ideals than he thought, he sees her more sure of herself now. 

Haru, even with her soft and gentle personality, is more intimidating than he expected. She scares him quite a bit, honestly.

Futaba’s not really a helpless, awkward girl. She’s the one making the thieves work smoothly, in and outside the game.

Yusuke.... Though at first he only pitied him (who’s he to talk, really…), Akechi’s come to admire how much of himself he can dedicate to his craft. He can kind of see why Akira likes him, though not to the extent and intensity that he does.

And speaking of Akira… it’s hard to admit it, but Akechi understand now why he’s so jealous of him. The kindness, the empathy, the strong will… Akira’s are all real. The fake image of the caring, charismatic young boy that he performs in front the public everyday truly exist in the leader. Akechi’s only a poor replica of him. He knows it. He sees it. But that only makes his resolve stronger. He wants all of what Akira has; the attention, the love, the respect…. and he’ll have it. He knows he deserves it. 

Sometimes, he can’t help but wonder; What if this had happened some years ago? What if thing were different? What if…?

He quickly silences those types of thoughts. Reality is not like that. 

This is all for his plan. He needs to achieve his goal. He doesn’t have a choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not very in tune with Akechi’s character, so I hope it was not too ooc. Thinking he’s a salty little shit makes me like him more, so I wanted to channel that energy into the chapter. Also imagining him facepalming at everything the other Thieves do is really funny to me. I really enjoyed writing this honestly.
> 
> I remind you, next week we’ll have another shopping trip! I strongly encourage you to leave a comment with items you’d want our team to have, because I might make them one of the options! I have some in mind already, but I would love to use yours instead!
> 
> As always, thanks for reading, and have a great week! <3


	8. Beneath the surface

On our last session, you made your way to the swamp town of Juku in order to check out a case similar to the one you were task to investigate back in your hometown, Yogen. After perusing the town for a bit and crafting a not very elaborate plan, you made your way into the biggest lake around the village, where the attacks concentrate, and got into the water without a second thought. While you were there, our dear rogue Pego decided that I would be wise to stick his hand in the dirty, thick body of water and is now being drag into it. 

"Wait wait, can’t we try to catch him or something before he gets drag in? Like, who’s on the boat with him?" Persephone asks a bit panicked, looking around the table.

"Mmh, we didn’t decided… I suppose maybe you, Félix, and Robin…?"

"Then I try to grab him!" exclaims Persephone once again.

Cool, make a strength check to see if you can pull him out of the monster’s grasp.

"Why are we having the WIZARD making strength stuff... " Persephone grimaces and throws her dice but she turns her head, scared to see the result. "8… MINUS 1?!"

[7]

Let me roll for the monster… [5] !! Lucky for you, you manage to find a good purchase on the boat and you yank with all your might from Pego’s cloak, managing to get him back on board. He is soaked, scratches all over his arm and part of his neck and face from the strong pull. The monster is drag up with him too and is on the boat as well now. It’s like a noodley, slimy long dog that snarls at you when he notices he’s out of the water. Suddenly, three more of them appear from under the boats and warp their bodies around them. They start to squeeze and create splinters on the boats, breaking them slowly. You have four turns before they completely destroy them. Roll for initiative!

"Only four turns?!!? That’s like, nothing!!! What are we going to do?!" Tauros joins Persephone’s panic while he searches for his dice.

Ok, let’s start… Remember, some of you have advantage on initiative from the spa trip.

"Ooohh yeah, everybody who didn’t have their ears bleeding from Eran’s signing," Tauros laughs loudly at his own joke, which makes Eran look down with a sad expression on his face. Tauros quickly stops laughing when he feels Pego’s cold stare on him.

"Ok, let’s start…"

[19]

[21]

"I…" Robin says, almost stuttering a little. "I rolled a 20…"

….

"A 20?"

"Yes, on the dice. A 20."

"!?!?!?!!"

THE FIRST NATURAL 20 OF THE CAMPAIGN OH MY GOD AKECHI.

"That’s so cool I haven’t rolled one yet!!"

"That’s amazing, Akechi!" Margarita congratulates him as well.

"It’s just a dice roll…" Robin says in a low voice, fighting off the heat building up on his cheeks for the compliments. "The total is 21."

Uuuhhh that’s so high. Ok, who’s next!

"Me!!" Margarita cheerfully says. "Let’s see…"

[21]

"I got a 20 too..."

"Another one!?!?" 

"And back to back?!"

"Oh my god what is going on today!!?!"

What’s the total, Marga?

"21 too…"

Ok, we’ll check your dex later to see who goes first. Next!!

"It’s me, then," Adriael says while throwing.

[22]

"Another natural 20..."

"No."

"I fucking quit man."

"This means we’re gonna die with these monsters."

"What, is, happening right now?!?!"

Nice, next 20.

[6]

"I’m sorry to break the streak but… I rolled rather poorly," says Eran, very disappointed and frowning.

You always ruin everything Inari.

"How dare you…!!"

"Ok ok, it’s my turn!!" Persephone says.

[20]

"Eeeeey, though it was actually a 19…"

"Turn for MY 20!!!" Tauros prepares himself and throws.

[6]

[16]

Well… it’s still pretty high...

"SHUT UP…!! Uughh…"

Anyway… Félix?

[8]

[6]

Ah yes, we’re back to our usual bad rolls… excellent.

"I’m last," Pego throws.

[20]

[18]

"DON’T LEAVE ME OUT DUDE."

"Chill, it was a 18."

Wow… I mean, it sure fits the situation! So, let’s start.

_[ Skill challenge: Inugami lake battle._ _The players can choose 1 of 3 options: attack, free action or aid a companion. Once the option is selected, the player will roll a d10 to see to which degree said action is successful: 1-5 fail, 6-8 mild success, 9-10 great success.]_

Adriael, you go first. What do you want to do?

"I would like to attack one of the monsters. The one closest to me."

Cool, roll your d10.

[9]

Ok, let’s say that you badly damage one of them and if someone hits it again, it will die. Next!

"It’s my turn then," smiles Marga. "I will attack the same monster."

[8]

Great! So, three inugami left, one of them is on the boat with you guys. Next!

"Alright… I will attack that one then," says Robin as he throws.

[2]

Unfortunately, it’s too slippery for you and you miss your attacks… Pego, your turn.

"Can I… try to grab the monster so that the next person can hit it more easily?"

That would be 'aid a companion'. Is that what you want to do?

"Yeah."

Ok, so… Persephone, whatever you do, you have advantage on it.

"Great! I want to attack it too!"

[5]

[3]

You miss… it’s moving around too much, you can’t get a hold of it.

"Ok ok ok leave it to me you guys, I want to go to their boat and take that fucker down," says Tauros with his dice already rolled.

Wait first!! Let’s say you use a 'free action'... if you succeed you’ll get to the boat but you can’t attack this turn. Tell me what you got.

[2]

"...."

Uuff… As you try to get into the other boat, you trip and fall into the water.

"WHAT?!?!" Tauros screams, getting up and knocking some things on the table.

"Oh dear, someone get him out of there!" Marga exclaims horrified.

"RYUJI YOU IDIOT!!" Persephone says, though her face is of pure worry.

Félix, your turn.

"Can I get to Tauros?" Félix asks as his ears lower to his skull.

Nope, he’s too far away.

"Oh, well… I’ll attack the monster on our boat then."

[6]

Well done!! Let’s say… it will die with one great success or two more mild successes. Eran, you’re up.

"Since we were on the same boat, I believe I can get to Tauros… I shall aid him get out of the water."

[10]

Well done!! So, you get him out save and sound. Be glad you did, because one more monster would have show up if he stayed in the water for too long…

"YUSUKE THANKS I LOVE YOU!!" Tauros latches an arm around the other’s shoulder and shakes him happily.

"No thanks needed, it is merely teamwork," Eran smiles at him and politely shoves him away.

Round number two! The boats are starting to creak and break slowly, some water coming in from the bottom. Adriael, you’re up.

"Ok, let’s attack another one…"

[5]

You miss… Marga?

"Can I… can I druidcraft some plants or something similar to patch some of the cracks on the boat?"

Oh, interesting idea… I’ll allow it.

[9]

Nice! Let’s say… the people on your boat have 1 more turn to finish the battle, since you managed to somewhat repair some of the damage. Robin, your turn.

"I’ll attack as well."

[1]

Oh, 1… the inugami takes advantage of your loss of balance and wraps its body around you, making you fall into the water. Robin may drown in two turns.

"D-drown?" Robin says, surprised by the sudden statement.

"Stop falling into the water guys…" sighs Adriael, hand on her forehead.

"Someone, get him out!"

"My turn, yes?" Pego says. "I get Robin out."

[3]

The inugami is moving around with Robin on it’s grasp and you can’t get a hold of them. Persephone, you’re up.

"I’ll try to get him out as well..."

[3]

Too much splashing to get a hold of him. Tauros, you’re up. 

"We still have one on our boat… I’ll try to take it out."

[3]

Miss!!

"Ok, my turn… let’s get Robin out!" Félix exclaims, spitting the dice from his mouth with vigour.

[7]

He’s half way out… but you’re dragging the inugami in too. Eran, you’re up.

"Well.. I shall attack the one on our boat."

[2]

Another miss… get it together guys! Round three, Adriael you’re up!

"Let’s get rid of this goddamn dog," she says threatening.

[6]

"Finally…!!"

Ok, one hit in! Marga!

"HIT IT!!"

[9]

Inugami OUT! There’re only the one around their boat and the one trying to drown Robin left. Speaking of which… Robin, it’s your turn.

"Can I.. attack it so that it lets me go?"

You can try. Disadvantage, though.

[3]

[9]

"Fucking..."

You get a huge gulp of disgusting, dirty water into you mouth, that makes you cough violently and doesn’t let you attack. Pego.

"Stop messing around detective."

[8]

Ok, Robin is out of the water, and so is the inugami.

"DIE ALREADY GODDAMIT!!" Persephone screams as she throws.

[9]

You’re getting at it guys! Let’s see if you can take them out before the final round… Tauros, do you want to do anything?

"Uggh… guess not? I can’t reach the other inugami right?"

Maybe if you throw something at it…

"Yeah, I’ll throw like a rock or something."

[1]

Complete miss… the rock actually makes a splinter on their boat.

"Ryuji..!!"

"I was trying to help, dammit!!"

Félix… let’s see how you do.

"Ok, I’ll attack the one on the boat."

[3]

Another miss… very interesting…. Eran, your turn.

"What exactly is interesting… I will attack the same that Tauros attacked, trying not to damage the boat."

[4]

Another miss. Round four is up. Adriael, your turn!

"I’ll attack the other one as well."

[4]

Another miss… Marga, you attack as well?

"Yes," she says determined, throwing her dice into the middle of the table.

[6]

Great!! You almost have them guys! Robin, you’re up.

"Attack the one on the boat," he says in a frustration infused voice.

[8]

One more and it’s dead! Pego, your turn.

"Attack it as well."

[4]

Another miss. Persephone?

[10]

With a loud sound you smash it’s head and it finally lays limp on the boat! Tauros, you’re up! Just one left guys!!

"FUCK OFF GOD DAMMIT!!"

[6]

One more hit! Félix, can you finish it off?!

"Behold my might!!"

[7]

And the last inugami sinks lifeless into the dark waters!! However… since you took the full four rounds to take them out, you created too much of a ruckus and alerted the other creatures living in the lake. You expect to see more inugami coming at you, but.. those waves are a little too big to be from an inugami…

"Wait, what?! Wait wait wait wait let’s book it guys let’s get out!!"

Oh, you want to escape? Mmhh.. let’s see… ok, let’s have you roll some strength checks to see if you can row fast enough to escape. I need two of you on each boat to roll.

"So, here we have Adriael… Marga and Tauros…"

"Wait, can I like… jump to the other boat to help them out? We have all our buff people here," Tauros asks, looking around at the table.

Ok… sure, roll an acrobatics check.

"I swear to god Ryuji if you fall in the water right now…"

[18]

You manage to get to the other boat safely. You can feel now stronger waves coming from the centre of the lake, making your boats rock quite a bit. So, who’s rolling strength?

"Marga, myself…" Adriael says, counting the members on her boat. "Tauros and…"

"COME ON ROBIN!!! Time to do something useful for once!!" Tauros loudly screams at his ear, making Robin flinch with a very annoyed look on his face. "We go first then, let’s go!!"

[7]

"You sure talk a lot and provide little results…" Robin murmurs to himself as he throws.

[1]

"GUYS!!!" Persephone panics once more.

"We dead," Pego says taking a sip of coffee.

"Don’t!! Say that, you’ll jinx us!" Persephone lightly punches him on the ribs, making him spit his coffee.

Let’s have the other team roll… Marga, you go first.

[18]

Well… Adriael?

[10]

Mmhh… ok, you manage to make it more or less half the way to the shore, taking advantage of the waves, but your companions can barely manage to move against the force of the water currents. A small whirlpool starts to form in the centre of the lake. One more check from everyone please. Tauros, go ahead.

"I’m not even good at what I’m supposed to be good at…"

[1]

"I fucking quit this stupid game," Tauros gets up from the table and storms out the room.

"Wait, we’re are you…!! Ugh…" Persephone watches him go, a look of worry on her face.

"Give him a minute," Pego says.

"Anyway..." Robin comments as he throws.

[8]

You stay on the same place… what will the people from the other boat do?

"We can’t let them here, right…? Should we… wait for them…?" Félix asks, not very sure on how to proceed.

"They’ll die if we leave them…!!" Eran voices his concern as well, an intense look on his eyes.

The waves keep getting bigger and bigger, to the point that they almost turn your boats. Are you waiting?

"No!! We keep going!!" Marga stands up and says with a firm voice. "I’ll cast Fog Cloud to hide us from whatever is coming for us?! A-and someone throw a rope at them and we’ll pull or something!!"

"Adriael, you should throw it, here take mine," Eran says to her.

"Y-yes, let’s do this!! I’ll throw the rope!!"

Ok, first… Do you throw the rope before the spell is cast or after?

"Mmhh… before I think?"

Ok, make a… range attack for me. 

[5]

The rope misses and goes into the water. Now that Marga has cast the spell, you can’t really see each other anymore, since the fog obscures your vision.

"What?!"

"Shit!!"

"W-what do we do now?"

The waves keep getting stronger and stronger. Your boat was repared with Marga’s druidcraft, but yours still has the damage made by the inugami. [4] ok, so Pego group your boat starts sinking guys.

"Oh nooooooo!!" Persephone hides her face on her hands.

"It’s ok. Let’s jump into the water and grab the rope that Adriael threw, then they’ll try to pull us out," Pego says in a calm voice. "I jump into the water."

"What if there are more inugami?!" Robin says at him in a serious tone.

"Well, we’re sinking anyways," Pego shrugs, ignoring Robin’s refutal. "Just speeding up the process."

"S-so, we’re jumping…?"

"Wha, what’s happening?" Tauros finally returns to the table and sits down, still a frown on his face.

"Into the water. Go."

"WHA!?"

Ok, so you all jump and grab the rope?

"I guess…" says Persephone as Robin lets out an exasperated sigh.

Adriael, make a strength check to see if you manage to pull them with you. Then I need two more people to roll strength too, for rowing. 

"Makoto please please please save us all," Persephone begs at her as she firmly grabs Tauros’ arm.

[7]

You hold the rope with all your might but it burns your hands and it escapes from your grasp.

"I GRAB IT, QUICK!!" Félix exclaims, knocking some of Pego’s dice with the nervous twitching of his tail.

Félix you have one last chance to pull this off, and then Marga and Eran roll for rowing. The water is getting wilder and wilder by the way, an all the people out of the boat are almost drowning in it.

[1]

"A 1?!?!"

"No, it was a 2.. but minus 1…"

The rope disappears into the water. Marga please roll. Then you Eran.

[14]

[15]

Ok, your boat manages to make it to shore. What are you guys in the water doing?

"SWIM, SWIM!!!" Tauros yells, now grabbing Persephone too.

"Let’s try to get to the shore!" Pego orders in a firm voice.

As you start swimming on the rowdy waters, splashing and taking gulps and gulps of dirty, murky water, you several loud growls come from beneath you. Everyone please make constitutions checks.

"I’ll go first..." Persephone murmurs in a small voice.

[20]

"Aa-aaahh!!" she exclaims happily. 

Ok, you make it to the shore. Next?

"Me," Pego throws his dice with a serious look on his face.

[15]

You also to manage to get there, a bit more bruised than Persephone. Tauros, wanna go?

"I guess… Dude i’m fucking shaking."

[16]

You also get to safety!! Robin, you’re last!

"Man you better fucking make it or else," Tauros says, in a more worried voiced than expected.

"Don’t make a fuss over it…" Robin responds, throwing his dice. 

[10]

"Oh no…"

"Does he make it?!"

As you are about to reach the muddy shore of the lake, a large wave suddenly rises behind you and seven snake heads emerge from it, all growling loudly. One of them tries to catch Robin in its jaw but barely misses, since you past de DC 10 for escaping. 

"Thank fucking god dude…" Tauros and Persephone let out a loud sigh, still grabbing into each other, and Pego smirks at Robin to congratulate him for his success. He not so subtly rolls coughs a little bit to hide his embarrassment. 

So, now that you awakened the boss of this area… let’s have all of you roll for initiative!!

***

After many, many close calls and a lot of healing spells, the seven headed Ananta finally falls to the ground unconscious, 3 of their heads badly burned by Persephone's spells and one of them completely smashed by Tauros. Though badly damaged, three of them still remain, but the life is rapidly leaving this monster’s body.

"You can talk, right? Tell us, why did you do this? How did you come to live in this lake?" Robin says, surprising part of the table.

"How did you know it can talk…?" murmurs Félix.

Mmh… roll charisma for me.

[15]

One of its heads, that has one eye completely gored and ruined after the battle, turns to you and says with a jagged and hissing voice: “The Masters wish it… They gave us the power, and we used it. We’ve always lived here, as another creature of the lakes, but the Masters gifted us with intelligence, with knowledge. They wish to see, and so we showed them…”

"Masters again? Who are these people? What do they want to see?" Adriael takes a stand next to Robin and questions the snake monster with a threatening voice.

The Ananta lets out a huge gulp of blood from its mouth and curls the rest of its surviving heads into its body, letting the last bit of life escape. 

"Well, that was… not much," Tauros says, disappointed.

"We should take a look at its body, maybe it can provide some more clues," Eran proposes.

"Yes, please let me do it," Marga says, stepping up. "Can I see if I can find any type of mutation on its body?"

Make a nature check.

[17]

Even though you’re not very familiar with this type of creature, you do find some gales at the base of its necks, where they are all connected, that ooze out a black substance very similar in colour to the one that appears to be in the water. You figure that the state of it was probably caused because the Ananta kept mixing this substance into the water. This black, thick liquid does not seem very natural, to your understanding. Inspecting the necks you also find very jagged and ugly looking scars around all of them, expect from the one in the very centre. Maybe that was the original one, and the others appear afterwards with the gales…? You can’t find out much else.

"Think this is all for now," Pego says in calm voice, catching one of his dice in the air. "Let’s report and go back."

"Yes, please, I don’t think my heart can take any more after this…" Persephone plops down on the table, head hidden in her crossed arms, and lets out another sigh.

"That was pretty stressful, but very fun too!!" Marga says in a happy voice, trying to lift up the atmosphere.

"I guess that’s the spirit of the game, isn’t it," Adriael adds to her comment, smiling as well.

"Well, you weren’t the ones having your character almost killed!! That was horrible…" Tauros imitates Persephone and takes on the same pose.

"Let’s allow Futaba to wrap up and head to dinner, I’m sure some good curry will helps us ease our racing hearts. Besides, I’m starving," Eran chimes in to quit their bickering.

Thanks Inari. So, all bruised up and tired, you make your way back to Juku, where you meet with the locals and inform them about the events that transpired. Since there isn’t much else you can do here, you tell them to stay in contact with Yogen’s government, in case the corruption of the water brings about any other type of problems, and promise them Yogen’ll try to help them find a way to purify it. Compared to when you first arrived you all feel very welcome now, and all citizens help you get patched up, serving you their finest food and drinks as a thank you before you head out to your long journey back home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New little experiment! How did you like the skill challenge? I tried to think of a way to incorporate battle elements without it dragging for too long… Did you like it, or should I change it somehow?  
> I actually messed up at some point (making Eran be on the wrong boat and trying to save Robin) and kept writing. Let me tell you… on those rolls both Felix and Adriael fell into the water as well and shit was looking: bad. Though in the end, it still looked pretty bad, huh… Those constitution saving throws had me at the EDGE of my chair. I really don’t know what they could have done to save themselves if they failed them, really… Robin just barely passed it!!  
> They were actually supposed to come back to the village and use their thief goggles to discover the dead bodies submerged in the water (because they could see glowy things in their pockets) and AFTER THAT they were going to rest and face the boss. But hey, isn’t every plan you had failing and still making it out the true magic of D&D?
> 
> This quest was based on the adventure “Unfriendly Waters” from the Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting book! (page 42)
> 
> Once again, thank you all for reading! <3 And please check out the next chapter, there’s a new poll with 3 more items for you to choose!
> 
> PS: I can’t believe the first nat 20 I roll is for fucking Akechi. Also I rolled THREE NAT 20s ON A FUCKING ROW. And after that, everything went down the road. I don’t understand what is going on.


	9. Shopping respite

After your intense battle with the Ananta you all make your way back to Yogen, where you directly go report to your superiors. Taking all the small bits of information you’ve gathered, they quickly dismiss you so that they can get to work in trying to figure out who these “masters” are and what their intentions might be in attracting these monsters. However, before you leave you are rewarded with a hefty amount of cash for your services. Once more, you visit your favourite magic shop, excited to spend your earnings in more little toys to play with:

  * Philter of love: If you take this philter, the next time you see a creature within 10 minutes after drinking it you become charmed by said creature for 1 hour. If the creature is of a species and gender you are normally attracted to, you regard it as your true love while you are charmed.
  * Fork of deliciousness: Any object (palm sized max) pierced by this fork becomes edible. It does not guarantee a good flavour. 
  * Dog figurine: Small statuette of a Pomeranian that can summon said dog when spoken its command word. The Pomeranian will remain in the plane where it’s summoned for up to 8 hours. In case it falls unconscious, it goes back to being a figurine. Once it has been used it can not be used again after 7 days.
  * Grandiose Positional System: Small leather bracelet that allows a chosen target to know the location of the wearer in a 1000 feet radius.
  * Sleep box: Small music box. Emits a soft music that makes anyone who hears it get incredibly sleepy. If you fail a wisdom save of DC 13, you fall asleep wherever you are for up to 3 minutes. 30 feet radius.
  * Sparkling ink: Magic ink that faintly glows. Whatever’s written or drawn with this ink only becomes legible when the reader puts it against a flame source. Otherwise, it only appears as some scribbles.
  * Liar’s choker: If you succeed a charisma check of DC 16, any lies told while wearing this choker are believed for 1 minute. After the minute passes, the listener can make an insight check to see through it if they’re suspicious.
  * Doppelganger’s sweat: Small vial filled with a clear liquid that allows you to duplicate any non-magical item. 5 uses.
  * Water skin of obliviousness: Water skin that makes anyone who fails a constitution save of DC 15 feel as if they were drunk. Up to 1 hour.



Just like before, you have enough money to afford 3 of these items. The rest will be unavailable for purchase in the future, so choose wisely. Tell me, my dear adventurers, which ones will you choose this time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The time to vote has come yet again!
> 
> I hope all the item descriptions are easy to understand? If you find them a bit difficult to understand, let me know and I’ll gladly explain in more detail.
> 
> Just like before, you can choose **3 ITEMS**. This time you’ll have until **September 5th** to cast your votes. [Here’s the link to **VOTE**.](https://www.poll-maker.com/poll2473422x5dF24E77-70)
> 
> See you all next week, my lovely readers! <3
> 
> PS: Wow, it’s so nice of Akechi to donate his choker for the campaign. What a kind soul.


	10. The one my heart desires

Today’s game night, and Akira’s busy selecting which beans he’ll use for today’s coffee and preparing the curry for the post-session dinner. Usually, they eat snacks while playing so some of them aren’t always hungry after the game, but he decides to prepare the curry anyways; none of his friends will be hungry on his watch.

He’s thinking about which beans would suit the atmosphere that will accompany the day’s events (they’ll probably be facing the final boss, and that always excites the whole party) when suddenly the bell of the door rings. Since Sojiro’s at the cafe as well, he doesn’t bother to look up.

"Huh, you’re here early," Sojiro mutters in a calm voice.

"Yes, since I wasn’t occupied with anything in particular at the dorms, I thought I might as well wait here until the others arrive."

Akira rapidly snaps his head up when he hears that voice. That unmistakable, velvety smooth voice, one he would recognize anywhere and that makes every inch of his skin tickle with joy at the mere sound of it. When he looks at the door from under the edge of his glasses, the owner of that voice he loves so much is standing there, smiling at him.

"Hey," he says approaching the counter, where the other sits in an elegant motion.

"Good afternoon. I hope my early arrival doesn’t bother you," he sets down the bag he’s carrying and proceeds to remove his long green coat. It’s almost sinful how good that coat looks on him.

"You never bother me," Akira quickly responds, making Sojiro glance at him. "Want some coffee while you wait? I was trying to decide which one I’ll make for tonight."

"Though my knowledge of coffee is quite superficial when compared to yours, I’ll gladly aid you in any way I can," the boy that haunts his every dream says fondly while nodding. "If I recall correctly, in one of the games where we were about to face some dangerous enemies you choose a magnificent blend that enriched our adventurous spirit and pumped us for the battle. I think that flavour would be nice for tonight as well."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same," Akira faintly smiles at him and picks the beans, casting a quick glance at the curry on the pot.

"Great minds think alike, or so they say," the other chuckles and gingerly puts a strand of his blue hair behind his ear. The gesture is not lost to Akira’s keen eye.

"I’ll make you something a bit blander for the meantime then," he goes to stir the pot so that the curry doesn’t burn and then goes back to the siphons.

"I’ll make his coffee, you can begin preparing everyone else’s," Sojiro steps next to him and takes the bag of beans from his hand. "I don’t want you multitasking too many things and ruining the beans, they’re expensive you know," he tries to sound stern, but Akira knows that behind that façade, Sojiro is kind and caring.

"Thanks," he simply says, and turns back to his guest on the counter. "Mind waiting a bit? Once I’m done we can go upstairs and wait there."

"Not at all, watching you work is always fascinating," he responds nonchalantly, to which Akira can’t help but giggle and look down at the coffee he’s working on. Sojiro casts them another glance, with a slightly raised eyebrow this time.

After a short while, Sojiro finishes his (only) costumer’s coffee, who decides to head upstairs. He faces Akira when the other’s out of earshot.

"You sure talk a lot when he’s around."

Akira just shrugs at his words and bites his lower lip subtly to stop the stupid smile that’s about to appear on his face. He hurries to finish all his work and takes his apron off, heading upstairs as well. He finds his dear friend sitting on the couch and sipping at his coffee while talking to Morgana, who’s also on the couch and on the process of cleaning himself.

"I’m done," he says to announce his presence and goes to sit right next to the other boy, making Morgana jump from his place so that he doesn’t get crushed.

"HEY!!" the not-cat yells at him, hissing a bit.

"Sorry, my spot," he answers without looking the feline and quickly turns all his attention to the side where the taller boy is.

"Ugh…. I’ll wait downstairs, just looking at you two makes me gag," Morgana murmurs in a badly hidden whisper, and leaves the room. 

"What did he…?"

"Yusuke," Akira says firmly so that the other looks at him.

"Yes?"

"How was your day?" he changes his voice to a gentler, more affectionate tone, and rests all his body weight on the couch, leaning a bit towards him, ready to listen to him talk about everything and nothing at the same time. 

He wouldn’t change this for anything in the whole world. These moments alone with Yusuke, just listening to him and watching his face as he gleams with joy and excitement, talking about whatever it is that has the artist’s interests at the moment, are one of his favourite things. 

To Akira’s eyes, Yusuke’s the most genuine person he knows. He’s confident, he takes pride on his work, and isn’t afraid to admit the things he doesn’t understand or is not good at, demonstrating how brave he is. He loves that aspect of the young artist. He also loves him for his honesty, even when it gets him in trouble.

Akira was scared when he came to Tokyo. He tried to hide himself and adapt to other people’s needs and expectations of him. He didn’t want to be noticed, or annoying. He latched to Ryuji like a lifeline when he was the first person who seemed ok with him, and decided to keep the game of pleasing whoever was in front of him to survive; he never expected to gain real friends with it, nor find someone who makes his heart flutter like Yusuke does… But even though he’s now surrounded by wonderful people, his default instinct still kicks in more often than not. 

He uses Joker’s persona a lot in the real world for that same purpose, to let his confident and sassy side do the talking for him. His usual silent demeanour helps with it too, so he doesn’t have to force conversation much. Even around his friends, sometimes it’s easier to just be Joker, especially when they are together as a group. He has to play the role of a leader, after all. But with Yusuke… it feels nice to be just Akira. Whatever he says, however he acts, Yusuke always finds something interesting about it. 

Compliments feel nice. Attention feels nice. Comfort feels nice. 

Yusuke makes him feel like being Akira is just as good as being Joker. All Yusuke asks from him is his company, not his knowledge, guts or anything else. Sometimes, he even wonders if Yusuke isn’t really that oblivious to his flirting, but just doesn’t take it seriously since he uses his Joker façade when doing it (Akira’s too shy to do it without his help). That would make sense, right? It kind of makes him feel better, too.

He hopes he can convince Yusuke to stay a bit longer than the others today as well.

***

Much to his delight, Yusuke does stay after everyone finishes their meals, even to the point he loses the last train. 

First, he comes to Leblanc early, then they have an amazing session where they defeat the final boss against all odds and can move on to the next quest, and finally, it seems that his crush is stuck to spend the night with him. When Morgana saw Yusuke lingering while the others headed back, he left with Futaba, mumbling under his breath. 

What a perfect day.

"I truly apologize for causing you so much trouble…" Yusuke says, looking at the floor with a frown on his face.

"You don’t have to, really. It’s not a problem," Akira is busy preparing a spare futon on the floor. He would’ve like to tell him the futon was in Futaba’s house or something along those lines so that he would share the bed with him, but he knows Yusuke all too well. He would insist to sleep on the couch, saying he wouldn’t want to cause him any more trouble. He doesn’t want to give Yusuke a sore back, so futon it is.

"It’s been awhile since I stayed for the night… I can’t say I mind, truly," the young artist smiles and sits down on the couch, waiting for the other to finish. "And since tomorrow is Sunday, we can talk as much as we want, regardless of the time. Maybe the current events are not as unfortunate as I first thought," he chuckles slightly and brings one knee up to his chest, hugging it.

"I’m happy you’re staying, honestly," Akira stands up and goes to sit next to him as close as he can, but far enough so that they aren’t touching. "I was looking at some new dice sets. I want to get another one so that I have other dice to roll, in case some of them get 'cursed' during a session," he pulls out his phone and shows Yusuke the site where he’s been scouting for a new set.

"Ah, I see you’re superstitious," he laughs softly and looks at the other’s phone. "Some of these are truly beautiful, the way the colours merge with each other reminds me somewhat of watercolours. I quite like it."

"I was thinking of getting a double coloured one with black and red."

"Of course, that would perfectly fit you," Yusuke looks up from the phone and directly into his eyes. "I have yet to thank you for getting me my set… I shall repay you once I have some spare money. You even picked one aesthetically pleasing. You know me better than anyone, Akira."

"I try," he leans his head back to rest on the couch and looks at him with dreamy eyes, just taking in all his beautiful features. "You don’t have to repay me, but if you really want to, I’ll accept a painting. I’ve wanted to commission you for a long time now. I want to see your art everyday."

At his words, Yusuke looks at him with a surprised expression for a few moments, eyes wide and mouth agape, and then starts _glowing_. With the widest smile Akira has ever seen on his face, he grabs both his hands and squeezes them.

"Yes, yes, I would be honoured to paint for you!!" he tightens his grip and looks at Akira with sparkling eyes. "I have so much to repay you for, I’ll put all my being into this painting!!"

"I already know I’ll love it," he tenderly smiles back at him, sweet pink blush decorating his cheeks, and with a swift movement, laces their fingers together. "I love everything you do."

"You give me too much credit. I’ll try my best to meet your standards," he simply keeps smiling back at him, without taking his hands away.

"Can’t wait to see it," Akira’s grin only get wider as he gently caresses Yusuke’s hand with his thumb. "Your hands are quite dry…"

"Yes, it’s been brought to my attention several times that I should hydrate them more often, specially now with the cold weather. However, I just seem to forget every time. It’s to be expected, really, since I have to wash my hands from paint stains so frequently…" 

"Let me help," Akira quickly gets up from the couch and picks up a bottle of hand lotion from one of the shelves. He sits back down, putting a generous amount of it on the palm of his right hand, and spreading part of it in his left one. He then extends both of them to Yusuke. "Come here."

"Oh, you really don’t need to…" he says, though he places his hands on Akira’s and lets him start applying it, massaging lightly on its way. "They feel softer already, and this smell is quite pleasant," he closes his eyes and lets out a happy hum, letting himself enjoy the moment.

"Glad to hear it," Akira chuckles lightly and continues his massage even after the lotion’s been absorbed. "I can get you a bottle if you want."

"Oh, that would be wonderful actually… And with this smell, I can probably recall your presence and be graced with precious inspiration, just like when I’m with you."

Akira’s thankful that Yusuke still has his eyes closed, because he can feel a stupid lovesick smile appear on his face as his cheeks start to heat up even more. He responds just with a low mumble and takes a deep breath, concentrating on the gentle massage, and focusing on playing with Yusuke’s slender fingers. It takes all his might to resist the urge to jump at him and start peppering soft kisses all over his pretty face. He fixes his eyes on their connected hands and keeps massaging them for a few more moments, until he looks up at Yusuke to find him with half-lidded eyes, looking at their laced hands too, and a pleased smile on his face. 

He needs to take a rather loud gulp before being able to speak again.

"So… wanna watch a movie, or do you want to do something else?"

"A movie sounds quite nice. I leave the choosing to your discretion," he then pulls his hands away from Akira’s and leans more comfortably on the couch. He's already missing the warmth of Yusuke's hands, but he’s not going to complain.

They decide to watch a Takarazuka performance, 'The Poe clan' specifically. Akira wants to take the artist's hands again and just hold them while they watch the play, but he isn’t brave enough to do it. Instead, he settles with casually bumping his shoulder with Yusuke’s when he adjusts himself on the couch. The other doesn’t seem to mind in the slightest, so Akira happily accepts their closeness and starts paying attention to the TV screen. Once it’s over, they spend the following 2 hours commenting the play, still sitting unnecessary close. After that, they go to their respective beds and sleep for the night, both of them feeling extremely happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter’s been brought to you by the 3 bottles of hand lotion that are always on my desk.
> 
> This turned out WAY SAPPIER than I thought! Maybe I just love Yusuke as much as Akira does... I don’t know if you’re interested in these shukita bits, but I had to get this one out of my being. If you want to see more of them in future chapters, let me know! I’m down with the idea of evolving their relationship between games. I don’t want Akira to suffer eternally because of our oblivious Yusuke.
> 
> Quick reminder that the survey to [VOTE ](https://linkto.run/p/J9TIT7LU) for the next items is still open until this Thursday! Make sure to vote if you haven’t already!
> 
> As always, thank you all so much for reading, and have a lovely week!! <3
> 
> PS: Yusuke would love Takarazuka’s over the top aesthetic and you can rip that headcanon out of my cold dead hands. Here’s a [little preview ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3AP8M0SyxE) of the play they’re watching, in case you’re curious. (I loved this one and besides my wife Yuzuka Rei’s in it, UGGGGHHHH so good).
> 
> I actually wanted them to be watching “People who have wings” by the Cosmos troupe in 2014 but I couldn’t find any official videos to show it to you, so I changed it. Anyway I should stop now unless I start fangirling about Takarazuka.


	11. Floral alert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, quick note, we have a bit of a time skip in this chapter. PCs went from level 2 to level 8. I’m still working on those character sheets, I promise I’ll have them some day…!

Welcome back, dear adventurers. It’s been some time since you began your epic quest. About 3 more months have passed, and you’ve been following several threats in hopes to find any more information about these “Masters” that seem determined to upset the balance of our world, but not much else’s been found. 

The pretence is always the same; some inoffensive force is granted great power by the “Masters”, power that seems to corrupt them and guide them through a wicked path. The status quo of the situation is frustrating some of you, but nonetheless, you keep pushing.

This time, you find yourselves venturing to the outskirts of one of the biggest forest areas in the nation, known as Kashira Garden. Traveling to the towns near Kashira, you’ve hear several complaints about the plant life there behaving… strangely. Overgrowing more than ever, the plants seem to be gaining consciousness and are attacking anyone who dares come close to the tree line. This case is a bit different from the others you’ve encountered, since you’ve always battled with monsters or beast, but it does meet the requirements for being one of the “Masters” doings, so you decide to investigate it. 

"I’m so excited about this!!" Marga proclaims, clapping happily. "Will we be facing evil plants? My axe is ready!!!"

"B-but you don’t have an axe in-game…" Tauros looks a bit scared by her statement.

"I’m looking forward to it too. My expertise on nature is quite high as well," Eran says, sharing Margarita’s excitement.

"Are we there already?" asks Robin as he carefully places all his dice in a line on the table.

Yes, we can say you just arrived at the very edge of the forest. As far as you can tell, it looks just like a normal forest. Maybe there’s more leaves and plant life on the very floor, but nothing seems unusual.

"There’re killer plants in here, I don’t want to rush in…" murmurs Persephone, shivering a little bit.

"Fireball it," Pego proposes to her, making part of the table gasp.

"You crazy? There are billions of trees in here, it would burn for days," Félix tries to lightly tap him on the head for the humourless joke, though Pego gracefully avoid his paw.

"Anyway… shall we begin? I think some nature checks are in order, yes?" Adriael decides to ignore the other two and turns to talk to Marga and Eran. 

Go ahead!

"I’ll start then!!" Marga throws her pink dice with both hands on the middle of the table.

[17]

Well done! Inari, you’re next.

"I recall you telling us any other names besides our character’s were banned at the table…" he squints his eyes a little bit, still not fond of the nickname, and throws.

[17]

Going in pairs, huh? As far as you can tell, the plants seem healthy. There’s nothing really abnormal about them. But do you notice that… they’re not local to this area. These roots and vines are too thick and thorny. You also notice that the land is way too dry to be able to maintain such a vast number of plant life. You put one of your hands on the roots and notice a slight magical pulse coming from it.

"Magical?" Persephone voices out loud, rather confused.

Someone with arcana proficiency can make a check if they want.

"I am proficient," says Robin.

"Me too!!" Persephone quickly adds.

Cool, both make your rolls.

[22]

"That’s so freaking high!! What did you roll?!" Tauros says as he takes Persephone’s dice from her hand.

"I have a + 8 bonus," she responds, sounding rather cocky.

"I doubt I can top that, but I’ll try rolling anyway," Robin smiles a little bit to his wizard companion and takes his dice.

[11]

Ok, they only one who notices is Persephone. As you concentrate on the magic ley lines and follow them deeper and deeper into the forest, you feel how the magic gradually gets stronger until it reaches the centre of it, where its power is almost overwhelming. What you do notice Robin is that it’s a type of magic very familiar to you, fey magic. 

"Oh, interesting," responds the tiefling, taking some notes.

"Aahh… do I know something about fey magic?" asks Persephone, eyeing Robin with a confused look.

Make another arcana check.

[12]

Not really, just that it comes from the Feywild and that it’s common for it to involve plants and other types of natural beings.

"Well, there’s not much else we can do here… Let’s try to proceed through the forest with caution," Adriael suggest to the rest of the group.

"Yes, let’s go stealthy if we can. I can cast 'pass without a trace', that should help us," Félix adds to her proposal, looking at her for approval.

All right, everyone please make a stealth roll for me and add + 10. And whoever is leading the march make survivals checks too, to see if you can find a safe path to follow. Let’s start by this side of the table… 

Persephone: [31]

"I rolled a natural 20!!!" she exclaims happily, knocking Tauros on the head when she throws her arms up. "Oh oh oh oh sorry sorry sorryyy!!"

"Jesus, fucking… BE CAREFUL!!" Tauros yells at her as he cradles his own head in his hands. "Anyway…"

Tauros: [25]

Eran: [20]

"This spell is magnificent, I rolled a 4 and yet my score is so high… we should use it more often," says Eran, quite relieved.

"I always need to be saving your butt from danger, huh," Félix seems to be happy at the praise for his actions.

"Hope I don’t ruin this for us then!" Marga takes her turn and throws.

Marga: [17]

"Oopss…"

It’s ok, you’re doing fine by now. Adriael, your go.

Adriael: [22]

Robin: [1]

"AKECHI DUDE!!!" Tauros makes Robin jump by the sudden scream of his name.

"It’s fine, I’ll princess carry him," proposes Pego out of the blue.

"You’ll what…?" Robin responds in a low voice, looking at him.

"Let’s finish rolling before we do anything…" Félix takes his dice and gratefully throws it in the air with his tail.

Félix: [23]

Pego: [1]

"...." Pego stares at his dice, expression blank. 

"Ahahahahahaha!!!!!" Tauros and Persephone start laughing madly, clutching their stomachs. 

"Serves you well for being so cocky!!" Félix chimes in as well, rather amused.

"And we were doing so well…" laments Marga, though she’s laughing as well. 

PpfffmmhhahahaHAHAHAhhmmhmmh…. o-ok, ok, ufff, before we get to that… let’s get the survival checks please.

"I feel like Marga should do it…" proposes Adriael, pensive. 

"Oh, I’ll gladly do so! Anyone wants to help?"

"I will!! After all, our duo is impressive!!" Félix volunteers himself, making Marga smile wider.

Great, go at it! Marga, you first!

[13]

Félix?

[13]

You’re liking the double rolls today huh… Very well. So, you all start to make your way through the thick density of the forest, being careful not to step in any suspicious looking piles of leaves as you slowly make your way in. Unfortunately, taking a wrong direction from Marga, Robin steps on a small slump and starts falling. As Pego tries to catch him and carry him a la princess style, the weight of Robin’s body’s too much for him to handle and they both fall head first into a cluster of thorny vines, taking… [1] point of piercing damage. You fall on top of one another, and as you try to stand up, the vines start to wrap around your bodies, keeping you stuck to each other and restricting your movements. The thorns start burying into your flesh, making you take another [3] points of piercing damage.

"How did we end up like this…?" Robin sighs and brings a hand to his forehead, trying to steady his growing irritation. 

"This is because I cheated with another man…" Pego sighs as well and lowers his head, regretting his decision.

"Help, please…?" asks Robin as he looks at the rest of the group. 

"I think we should leave you two there for a while, you know, for bonding," Persephone smirks, both her and Tauros looking at the pair with mischievous eyes.

"I agree. You kind of deserve it," Adriael agrees with them, smiling too.

"I must admit, the situation is quite funny," Eran lets out a small chuckle. "But we need to take them ou-"

You two take… [3] points of poison damage, and the vines start wrapping around your bodies more tightly. 

"Oh shit!" Tauros exclaims, stopping his laugh.

"I take them out," declares Eran.

"With you minus whatever strength? Those vines look thick as hell. What you gonna do, sing?" Tauros laughs at him. "I’ll do i-"

"Excuse you, but I possess many abilities," Eran interrupts him, offended at his words.

"Are you going to Disney Princess sing the vines away?" Persephone says suddenly, eyes sparkling.

"I don’t believe I can do that…" Eran responds to her as he frowns.

I’ll allow it. Make a performance check.

"Really?!?" Persephone exclaims excited before Eran can say anything. "Sing, sing away my bard!!!" she cheers him on, clapping. Marga joins her clapping as well, as does Adriael after a few seconds, somewhat shy.

"I’ll… do my best?" the bard says, throwing his blue and purple dice.

[13]

"What, you won’t actually sing?" says Persephone somewhat disappointed.

"Of course not," responds Eran with a scoff. 

I’ll let you pass the check if you sing.

"What…?" Eran’s eyes grow wide at the suggestion.

"Do it Yusuke, do it!!" Persephone hands a blushing Eran a pen to use as a makeshift microphone.

"I don’t think I can do this…" he says, though he takes the pen.

"Maybe if you have some instrumental music in the background it would help?" Marga suggests.

"Oh wait wait wait," Tauros pulls out his phone, wide smirk plaster all over his face, and quickly puts on some music.

"B-but the lyrics…" Eran mumbles without any strength left to resists, face blushed deeply.

"Just make them up, go go go!!" the clapping resumes once more and all the table turns to look at the fluster bard.

"A-aamm…" he takes a shaky breath and lowers his eyes to the table. "…. _Mother earth, I ask you head my words. Plead to your children of all sorts. Free those who meant not harm you. Show us that your good will is true,_ " he starts to sing, eyes still glued to the table, as the rest of the group looks at him with wide eyes.

"Oh, that was beautiful!!" Marga exclaims happily, still clapping.

"... Why are you good at signing too?" Tauros says, genuinely surprised at Eran’s melodic voice.

"Not fair," murmurs Persephone, now not as excited about all of this as before. 

"He even made it kinda rhyme…" Adriael comments just as surprised as everyone else. 

"I’m not doing this ever again…" without looking up, Eran tucks some of his hair behind his ear and tries to calm himself, placing the pen on the table.

"Let’s continue…" Félix says as he pats Pego’s arm, who’s hiding his face in his hands, glasses pushes up his forehead, in an attempt to calm down too.

Wow, well done…!! You manage to convince some of the plants with your signing and the majority pull away, though some smaller ones are still binding their legs and torso.

"Well," Eran coughs slightly, shaking off the last bits of embarrassment on his face. "I’ll extend a hand to them."

"I’ll ta-" Robin begins to say, but he’s interrupted.

"I take it," Pego quickly beats the other to his words.

Fine, you both eventually manage to be get out and join the rest of the group. 

"Hold my hand so that I don’t fall again, please?" Pego asks, looking at Eran with fake puppy eyes and the tiniest of pink blush on his cheeks.

"Oh... all right, but please be more careful with your steps," Eran slightly nods at him. "I will cast 'healing word' to return... [8] hitpoints to him," he gently smiles at Pego. "Oh, and [5] to Robin as well."

"Thank you," Robin smiles at him too and turns to the group once more. "Let’s just... continue, yes?"

Ok, two more survival checks please. Félix, Marga?

[11]

[9]

You can’t seem to navigate as easily now, and your pace is slowed considerably. You only manage to reach the end of the first third of the forest area, and the sun is setting already. Do you want to continue through the night or do you prefer to rest? 

"I don’t feel comfortable travelling the forest at night… I think we should stop for now."

"Yes!!!" Tauros strongly agrees with Adriael’s idea. "Besides… I want to see that doggo."

"Oh yes, the new items!"

Perfect, so you manage to find a small clearing and you settle in for the night. Let’s see, you couldn’t decide which items to get between the Liar’s choker, the Dog figurine, the Sleep box and the Grandiose Positional System, so we asked the dice and they decided that you got…. the choker, the figurine and the box! Here you go…

"DOGGO!!" Tauros snaps the piece of paper out of Pego’s hand. "I SUMMON THEE!!"

….You throw the figurine on the floor and a small white Pomeranian appears on its place.

"Aaaww!!" Persephone exclaims.

"Come here, come here!" Marga says, making cute smooching noises.

You know what… this will be funny, everyone make animal handling checks. Let’s start on the other side of the table now!

Pego: [20]

Natural?!

"Nah, total," he responds, chewing on some jagariko.

Félix: [11]

Robin: [9]

Adriael: [8]

Marga: [7]

Eran: [17]

Tauros: [19]

Persephone: [7]

The puppy ignores the rest of you and goes directly to Pego.

"Hell yeah, my puppy," he says doing a small fist pump.

"But I want to pet her tooo!!" Persephone complains, trying to take the paper away from Tauros.

"She’s so cute…" Adriael whispers.

"Are you going to name her?" asks Eran as he tries to steal a glance to the paper the other two are fighting over. 

"Yes, we should all propose a name for our new companion!" Marga suggests.

Oohh what a great idea. Do you have a name in mind?

"I do!!" Marga says again. "Flowerbud!!"

"Oh, that is really cute…!!" Persephone responds, paper successfully snatched.

"MADHOUND!!!" Tauros suddenly screams.

"What? No, that’s lame," Persephone eyes him with a disapproving glance. 

"No, you’re lame! What do you propose then?" he crosses his arms and looks at her with the same glance.

"Little Thief!!" she smiles proudly.

"That’s not even a name!!"

"It’s cuter than Madhound or whatever!!!"

Anyway… Everyone else? Adriael?

"... Snow…" she says in a small voice.

Yes?

"Snowball…." she blushes a little.

...A bit cliché, but effective. Félix?

"Satan."

"WHAT?!?!"

"Morgana!!!! You can’t do that!!"

"That thing is ugly! I don’t like it. Satan."

"I want to change my entry to Morgan," Tauros says, serious.

"HEY!"

"Don’t fuck with the puppy man," Persephone nods, agreeing with Tauros statement. 

Stop bickering!! Ugh, you’re impossible… Eran?

"Monet."

"Doesn’t sound bad," Tauros seems to approve.

"That’s… an artist’s name…" Robin says, awkward smile on his face. 

"A-again…?"

"Doesn’t it have an elegant sound to it?" Eran closes his eyes with a serene expression on his face, proud of his decision.

Can’t you all summit normal ass names?! Pego, please…

"Dalí."

"Whasdat?"

"Ah, an excellent choice," Eran smiles at him.

No, I prohibit it. I won’t let you name the puppy after an artist too just so that you can get the d…!!

"AAaaahhh t-try to think of something else, yes?" Adriael quickly interrupts the conversation, her face redder than before.

"Mmhh…." Pego thinks for a bit, fingers resting on his chin. "Kilimanjaro."

"Isn’t that… a type of coffee bean?" Marga asks curious. Pego nods.

"Well… It does sound kind of cute," Persephone seems to like the name quite enough. 

I give up… Robin, what do you suggest?

"Oh.. this is difficult... Toshi, maybe?" he says, not really caring about it.

"Ok, and that isn’t lame?" Tauros asks to Persephone.

"Kinda…"

"Goro-chan sounds better," Pego proposes then, smirk on his face.

"W-what..?" the tiefling asks embarrassed at hearing such name.

"It sounds really cute!! Goro-chaaaan!"

"Goro-chaaaan!!!"

"Goro-chaaaaaaaaannn!!!!" half the table starts chanting the name, trying it out.

"P-please, stop it!!!" Robin says, hands extended towards them and face deeply flushed as his eyebrows form a frown.

Ok, Goro-chan it is.

"I never agreed to this…!!"

Anyway, we’ll decide later. Want to check out the Liar’s choker?

"Yes, let me do it!!" Persephone turns to look at Tauros. "The puppy, it’s ugly."

Roll charisma for me first.

[7]

You failed… he doesn’t believe you.

"Wait, let’s give it to someone with a shit ton of charisma. Who has the highest…?"

"Robin, right?"

"Ok, I’ll try it," he takes the paper. "Satan’s a good name for the puppy."

[22] 

You all believe him.

"That’s super cool," says Persephone.

"But what a lame way to use such a good item, you should say something crazy!!"

"Are you evil?" Pego suddenly asks Robin, eyeing him from the corner of his eye.

"...." Robin returns his glance for a while. "Yes."

You believe him.

"Wait, that was a lie?"

You don’t know, you believe anything he says.

"Wha..."

"Anyway… I think maybe Robin should keep it," Adriael mutters aloud, thinking about it. 

"But my deception is pretty high, I think it would be better if someone else has it," Robin places the paper on the center of the table. 

"Mmh… that’s a good point. Who else has high charisma?" she turns to look at the rest of the group. 

"I do, but my deception is quite high as well," says Eran. "Maybe our rogue should have it, he’s the one that runs first into trouble usually."

"I won’t say no to that," Pego grabs the piece of paper. "I put the choker on."

Now you have the beautiful black lace choker with a red gem on the center around your neck.

"Nice," he nods slightly with a pleased smile on his face.

And finally, you have the Sleep box.

"Let’s try it out too…" Tauros says, rubbing both his hands.

"Wait, don’t open it!!" Adriael yells all of a sudden.

"What, why?"

Did you open it?

"Yes….?" he says in a sheepish voice.

Everyone, make wisdom saving throws.

"What, it affects us?!"

"Of course it does!!" Adriael frowns at him.

Persephone: [13]

Tauros: [14]

Eran: [-]

Wait, you don’t need to roll.

"Mmh? Why is that?"

Because you’re an Eladrin, magic can’t put you to sleep. You’re immune to the box. 

"Well, that is certainly convenient," he neatly places his dice back on the table. 

Marga: [24]

Adriael: [22]

"Hum, I got a 20 on the dice," Adriael smiles proudly.

"You’re the one that’s got the most this far, right?" Marga smiles back at her gently.

Robin: [16]

Félix: [23]

Pego: [11]

"Are you the only one that failed?" Félix laughs at Pego, who looks disappointed at his dice once more.

"Serves you well, give us the puppy back!!" Persephone sticks her tongue out at him.

Wow! I can’t wait for all of you to fail the saving throws when you actually use the box for something. Pego, you fall face first to the ground right there where you stand.

"Second time today…" Tauros snickers at him. 

"No no wait, I’ll try to catch him," Adriael says.

Make a dex check for me. 

[9]

You don’t manage to catch him and he falls to the ground, sleeping peacefully. Half of his face buried in the sand. The puppy approaches him licks his cheek to try and wake him up.

"Aaww, she’s so cute."

"I love her," Pego says, clutching his chest. 

"Should we do a prank on him or some…" Tauros stops at once when he notices Adriael’s and Pego’s cold stares on him. "Ok."

"Why don’t we give the box to Eran, since it doesn’t affect him?" says Persephone, placing one finger on her chin.

"It’s a good idea. Honestly, it’s quite lucky that at least one of us will always stay conscious when we use it," adds Adriael, somewhat relieved. 

"I’ll take good care of it, thank you," Eran says as he tucks the piece of paper in his doodle filled notebook. 

"Is no one going to help me…?" Pego sounds rather hurt.

"Won’t you wake up in a little bit?" Robin smiles at him, though his voice sounds a bit devilish.

"Even so…" the rogue rubs his neck a little bit.

"Let’s flip him over at least and wait until he’s awake."

"Thanks."

So, you put all your cute little toys away and settle in for the night. Pego, the puppy is still out for another 7 hours so you can sleep with her if you want.

"I’ll bury my face in her fluffiness" the rogue says with a serious face.

"Can’t believe you’re sleeping with Goro-chan," Tauros laughs with a shit-eating smirk, and Pego flinches a bit at the comment.

"Please… enough of this…" Robin sighs, exasperated. 

Well, so next morning…

"Wait, there’s something I want to do once everyone is asleep," Robin suddenly says, gaining back some of his composure.

Oh, in private?

"Yes."

Make a stealth check.

[5]

Ok… when you wake up and start to leave, you step on the puppy’s tail.

"Monster!!" the left side of the table exclaims almost in unison. 

"S-sorry, sorry… I didn’t mean to… I go back to bed…"

Ok. Are you done?

"No… I wait a bit so everyone is asleep. I’ll stay on the camp and try to be very silent then. I want to try and communicate with my patron."

Ohohoho…. make another stealth check for me.

[1]

"...." Robins sighs loudly.

Ok… you all hear him start muttering some gibberish under his breath and see his eyes going blank. If anyone wants to say something to him…

"S-should we…?"

"No, wait… where’s the notebook?" asks Adriael.

Store in one of your bags, why?

"I want to take it. Without Robin noticing me if I can."

Make a sleight of hand check for me please. 

[6]

Robin’s passive perception is… 10. You notice her moving.

"I stop and pretend to sleep!!!" she says nervous.

Ok… make a deception check for me.

[18]

Robin, roll insight?

[16]

Maybe she was just moving in her sleep…? You can continue your communing ritual if you please.

"Well... I think everyone’s sleeping, right…? Guess I will continue…" he says, not very pleased with the current state of events.

"Do I have the notebook?" asks the monk, heart still racing. 

No, I’ll let you try again if you want but with disadvantage. 

"No, I’ll stay put… but I’ll try to pay my full attention to whatever he’s doing."

Is anyone else doing anything?

"No," Pego says before the other’s can say anything. No one protests.

Understood. So, as you all pretend to sleep, Robin keeps casting his spell to communicate with his patron. You’ve never seen him doing it before, but maybe it’s no something that unusual…? People communicate with gods all the time anyway. He stays still for a while, apparently engaged in some kind of conversation. Do any of you speak Sylvan?

"I do," Marga says raising her hand. 

Ok, so you can understand everything he’s saying. What exactly are you saying, Robin?

"I want to... I want to ask if it’s Them whose magic is present in the forest."

They say “No”.

"Do They know its origin?"

“Yes, and so do you” They say. “Seek it, and bring it to me.”

"Can you.. can you give me any more information about it? How am I supposed to do it?"

“You’ll see, my champion. Don’t disappoint me”. The connection fades and you come back to the real world.

"Ok…" Robin murmurs, thinking on the words he just exchanged with his patron.

"What… was that…?" mouths Persephone in a poorly conceited whisper. 

Anyone wants to do anything else? Great, so next morning comes and…

"What the fuck was that Robin?" asks Tauros, confronting the other straight away.

"Huh?" he responds, a bit taken aback by his bluntness.

"That fucking mumbo jumbo you were muttering last night, you woke all of us up."

"Oh, I was just talking to my patron, nothing else," he simply responds, smiling.

"Insight check."

"I want to insight check him," say both Adriael and Pego almost at the same time.

Go right ahead. Who wants to go first?

"Please, allow me," says Adriael looking at Pego. 

[10]

‘Kay, Pego?

[17]

He’s saying the truth.

"Mmhh…" Pego starts thinking.

Anyway, do you want to move along?

"Yes, let’s get going."

Survival checks once more please. Félix?

[21]

Really good! Marga?

[10]

This once it looks like Félix’s the one more in tune with the terrain, managing to guide the whole team safely deeper into the forest. Can you make an intelligence roll for me Félix?

"Allow me to inspire you before you do that," Eran offers. "Without singing," he suddenly says, expression serious. 

Great, add a d8 to whatever you roll. 

[9]

"Uggh…"

Ok, so, you keep making your way in until you reach a point where the landscape starts to change. The plant life takes on a more… grey colour, but it’s almost shining with a neon tune… the air is filled with some kind of dust that rest heavily on all the plants. Also, the amount of flora has practically doubled. If you keep going you’ll start walking on difficult terrain.

"That’s... weird. What is that thing?"

"One way to find out.. I want to investigate it," Tauros says, dice on the air already.

Roll nature.

"Oh, shit," he caches the dice before it touches the table. "Marga you do it."

"I think Eran should, he has more bonus on nature than me," she responds, smile on her face.

"What?! But he’s a bard!!" Tauros seems disrupted by the information. The druid shrugs.

"Very well, I’ll do it then."

[9]

It’s strange. But you can tell that the source of this dust is something organic.

"Helpful."

"Sorry…" Eran sheepishly takes his dice back. 

"It’s ok, it’s not your fault," Pego says. "Does it look like this dust is doing something to the plants?"

You can’t tell for su…

"Oh, wait!! I have just the right spell to help us now!!" Marga explains. "I want to find a nice looking plant and cast 'Speak with plants'!"

Nice call! So, you approach a small brush, still with some green leaves but covered in this purple, glowy dust that’s filling the air. What do you want to ask the plant?

"Hello, good morning. I’m sorry to bother you, but I want to ask you some questions. How… how are you? Has this area of the forest always been like this?"

The brush responds “No, one day these spores started falling from above and they’ve been altering us. We grow more, but the strength is destroying are bodies from inside.”

"Spores?"

“Yes, they’re like… poison to us. They’ve already killed all the animals that lived on the forest”

"Oh shit, so they’re being poisoned?"

"Now that you mention it… it’s true, we haven’t seen any animals around..."

"Where do these spores come from?"

Persephone, you can easily tell that these spores emanate the same fey magical essence that you detected in the centre of the forest.

"So, that’s where we’re headed…?"

"Do you know what’s there?" asks Marga.

“Don’t know. I’ve always been here”

"Ahahaha… right…. We’ll try to help you in any way we can. Do you mind if I take one of your leaves so that I can investigate what kind of poison these spores produce?"

“If you can save us, then please go ahead. I beg of you, stop whatever this is.” The spell fades.

"Ok… so we have a sample…" Marga takes some notes, sharing them with Eran.

"Are the spores affecting us too?" Pego asks, head lazily resting on his palm.

Uhuhuhu… you beat me to it…. make constitution checks everyone!!

"I told you, evil plants!!" Persephone grimaces, looking for her dice.

"Oh no… are we getting poisoned too?" Marga wonders, somewhat worried.

"I mean, these spores got rid of all the animals…"

Persephone: [14]

Tauros: [13]

Eran: [4]

Margarita: [15]

Adriael: [5]

Robin: [8]

Félix: [18]

Pego: [5]

Eran, Adriael, Robin and Pego, you all start coughing. You take [6] points of poison damage and are considered poisoned for the next 24 hours. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks. 

"What?!"

"That’s crazy!!"

"Don’t we have anything to get rid of that?"

"Maybe lesser restoration…? I can cast it 2 times only…" Félix says, looking through his notes.

"I don’t have that spell prepared today…" Marga laments.

"Who should get it?" the cleric looks at the rest of the table. 

"Maybe Pego and Adriael?" Persephone proposes

"I’m fine, give it to Eran," Pego says quickly, shrugging it off. 

"Nonsense, you’re way more vital to the group. I think those too are a good option," Eran nods at Félix.

"I agree," Robin says.

Ok, so you two don’t have the disadvantage anymore. Do you wish to keep going?

"Before that… let’s all wrap something around our mouths, in case it helps with the spores, and try to see if we can figure something out about them," Adriael suggests as she looks through her inventory in search for any useful items. 

Whoever’s investigating needs to make a nature check.

"Shall we, Marga?" Eran turns to smile at her.

"Yes, you first!" she smiles back at him gently. 

[26]

"Shit, fuck…!!"

[9]

"Maybe I should change classes with Eran…" the druid giggles.

You find out that the spores’ magic is the one responsible for the overgrowth of plants. It’s not poisonous to the plants by itself, but the amount of magic is too much for plants of the Material Plane to handle. It has caused the plants to mutate and grow in places where they normally wouldn’t. It’s essence is very similar to that of fey magic. You can feel it very clearly Eran since part of you, being an Eladrin, is very in tune with the Feywild. With a roll that high you also think you can manage to produce some kind of concoction that could help you get rid of the poison the spores produce, but you’ll need to find whatever is producing them to be able to make it.

"So, we do need to get to the centre of the forest…"

Is that your destination?

"I guess… let’s make sure to keep avoiding the more dangerous areas and to protect ourselves from these spores. We should avoid them touching our skin too, just in case," the rest of the group agrees with Adriael’s plan.

All right, so you get all set and prepared and keep making your way deeper into the forest, in hopes of finding the origin of this plague… 

"Before we finish, I want to take Adriael aside," says Marga.

Ok, you do just that.

"I want to make sure no one else can hear us…"

You take your distance from the group while everyone’s getting ready to continue the journey.

"Adriael, last night, I heard Robin talk… he says he was talking to his patron, but… I could understand what he was saying. And I tell her everything I heard."

"Ok…"

"This is like the thing you found on his note, right? He wants whatever is making these spores…?"

"I don’t know for sure… but I think we should try to warn the rest of the team about it."

"Ok, let’s try to warn them without Robin noticing."

"I don’t know how though… who has the notebook?"

Don’t ask me, you’re the ones who manage your items.

"Anyway… let’s try to use it and be careful about this."

"Yes. Let’s go."

All right. So, deeper into the cursed forest you go…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You earned yourselves an extra poll… to decide the puppy’s name!! [**VOTE**](https://linkto.run/p/4FJWB5K7)the one you like the most! I like how this chapter turned out, they look like a fully-fledged D&D party now. 
> 
> Also, a little heads up, there won’t be a chapter next Monday because I’m out on vacation for the entire week. Chapter 12 will be up September 23th.
> 
> Hope you have nice week! And thank you all so much for the lovely comments last chapter, they really mean a lot to me! <3
> 
> PS: I’m weak for Yusuke and even weaker for actually-good-at-signing Yusuke. I’m weak for all the Yusukes. I love him. I love Yusuke. Thank you for your time.


	12. Sleepover

**[New message] Ann to Rolling Thieves**

**Ann (19:57):** So, I’ve been thinking

**Ann (19:57):** Since the sessions always seem too short and we just finished exams

**Ann (19:58):** Why don’t we sleepover for the next game?

**Haru (20:01):** That would be wonderful! (*´▽`*)

**Futaba (20:01):** YEEAAAAAHH LET’S DO IT!!!

**Ryuji (20:03):** Yes pls, I need something to forget about this hell…

**Makoto (20:03):** I like the idea, it could be a great way to relax after the tests.

**Makoto (20:04):** Is it all right if we stay Akira?

**Akira (20:07):** Sure

**Yusuke (20:11):** I’d have to consult with the dorm, but I’m fond of the idea as well.

**Yusuke (20:11):** I believe I still have a set of pyjamas in your home from the other day? 

**Futaba (20:12):** We didn’t need to know that…. (￣ω￣;)

**Yusuke (20:12):** ?

**Akira (20:16):** You do

**Akira (20:16):** Sojiro said it’s ok

**Ann (20:17):** Awesome!!

**Makoto (20:20):** Akechi, are you coming as well?

**Goro (20:33):** I’ll make sure to leave my schedule free

**Yusuke (20:39):** I also think it would be a great opportunity to prepare a special dinner. I propose sukiyaki.

**Ryuji (20:42):** You suddenly rich or what? But yeah something special sounds nice

**Akira (20:42):** I’m fine with sukiyaki

**Akira (20:43):** Morgana says he wants fancy sushi

**Ann (20:45):** Let’s put it to a vote then!

***

"All right. So, deeper into the cursed forest you go…"

Everyone lets out a sigh or relief and happiness, and settles down onto their respective seats, still buzzing with excitement.

"I know we played for longer than usual today, but I’d still like to play a little bit more," Haru says while giggling, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Same, can we keep going for just a little?" Ryuji turns to look at Futaba with puppy eyes.

"Nope, I need to plan things for the next game," she answers while closing the DM screen with a soft 'pum'.

"Besides…" Yusuke interrupts them, smiling widely. "I believe it is time for some sukiyaki."

"Yes please, I’m starving!!" Ann gets up and starts cleaning the table from spare notes, pens, papers, and eraser shavings. 

They quickly finish preparing the table with all the ingredients, the pot, portable stove and serving dishes, and start to prepare dinner.

"Say… where did we get the money to pay for this high quality meat?" Makoto asks with a slight frown as she stars placing some vegetables into the pot.

"Party funds," her leader replies nonchalantly, helping Haru clean some other vegetables.

"All the rest is from the school’s garden!" the later adds happily.

"I still can’t believe you managed to make anything grow there. You’re like a druid in real life…" Ryuji compliments her, to which she only giggles, though her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

"Huhuhuhuh… it smells delicious," Yusuke says, changing the topic, chopsticks raised in the air and ready to dig in.

"Don’t you DARE, it’s still raw!" Makoto scolds him and makes him lower his hand.

"Anyway…"

"Wasn’t today’s game fun? It was kinda nice not having any stressful fights for once…"

"Yes, so many funny things happened!"

"Yusuke signing was pretty good as well," Haru giggles as he serves said boy some more meat, though her eyes look a bit distant. The artist instantly blushes at the mere mention of it.

"Please, don’t tease me… It was truly embarrassing," he shakes his head slightly, blue strand of hair falling all over his face and contrasting against his red cheeks.

"You did amazing, really," Akira compliments him before taking a big mouthful.

"Hollow praise is unnecessary…" rearranging his disheveled hair, he turns his full attention back to the food. "I hope you are more careful in the future so those kind of situations never happen again."

"Yeah dude, I can’t believe you made out with Robin," Ryuji says as he turns to look at Akira, eat-shitting grin plastered on his face. 

"... Which part of falling into a pit filled with poisonous plants do you consider making out?" the boy with glasses responds, munching on the last bit of carrot on his dish.

"The bonding dude. It’s about the bonding."

"The items we got this time are really good too," Akechi quickly joins in, wanting to finish that topic of conversation as soon as possible.

"My resources are quite good, huh?" Futaba says, adjusting her glasses in a menacing manner. "…. Akira, get me some more meat," she whispers as she tugs at the boy’s sleeves. Her bowl is quickly filled with more food. 

"By the way, how did we end up naming the puppy?"

"Goro-chan," she responds before digging into her food.

"I liked my suggestion better, but that one is pretty terrible as well so it’s ok," the feline murmurs before he busies himself with his own dished of cooked fished.

"Should I be offended?," Akechi says in a light laugh, though it’s vanishes quickly.

"It’s not terrible!! It’s pretty cute actually."

"I accept my puppy’s name," Akira nods slightly. 

"She’s not yours!!" both Ann and Ryuji exclaim at the same time. 

"Yes, I like it as well. Right, Haru?" sensing she hasn’t talked much, Makoto tries to call for her friend’s attention. 

"Yes, it’s adorable," she responds in an even tone. The student council keeps her eyes on her, eyebrows knitting. 

"Oh, it’s the last piece of cabbage roll," Yusuke suddenly says, unaware of the situation going on, as he stares at the pot disappointed.

"You can have it," his leaders tells him before anyone can say anything.

"I already had two…" he lifts his eyes up to look at the young detective. "You like them as well, right Akechi? Please, feel free to have the last one."

"Eh?" the boy with flaxen hair looks up with wide eyes. "Don’t worr-"

"I insist. Take it," Yusuke grabs it with his chopsticks and leans over the table to place it in the other’s bowl. 

"Oh, you didn’t get to try the mushrooms either right?" Ann says looking at the pot as well. "Here, have these," she takes some off Ryuji’s bowl and moves them to Akechi’s.

"HEY!!"

"You already got tons!! Don’t be greedy!"

The detective looks at his now full dish for a moment before a tiny smile appears on his lips and he mutters a small 'thank you', directly going to eat the offered pieces of food.

"We’re almost done right? Time for dessert!!"

"YEEEESSS!!!" Ann and Futaba happily scream in unisone.

***

"Is everyone ready to go to the bathhouse?" asks Makoto, holding her bag with the necessary supplies on her hand.

"Ready!!" Ann does a little jump and starts making her way downstairs.

"I’ll wait here for everyone… I’m… so full… " Morgana lets out a pleased sigh and rest comfortably on the couch, patting his full belly with care.

"I…. I wait too…" Futaba murmurs as she sits on the sofa as well, bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them.

"Are you sure? You’ll be with us the whole time Futaba, it will be alright," Makoto tells her, and she looks at the floor, conflicted.

"You know, you can come with us and try it out and if you really don’t like, you can just come back here and wait for us! How does that sound?" Haru proposer to her with a smile on her face.

The smallest of the thieves seems to think for a little bit. As she’s doing that, Akechi coughs slightly to catch everyone’s attention. 

"I think I will be staying here as well. I need to take care of some things…" he tries to sound convincing as he smiles at them and gestures to his suitcase. He really needs to recharge his social batteries even a little bit if he’s to hold up the rest of the night. Even if the cat is here, he should be able to do it. 

Just as he’s about to turn his back to them, Ryuji throws his arm around his neck and lowers him down a little.

"Akechi, dude… it’s fine," he says to him, lowering himself as well as he whispers, not wanting the girls to hear him. "I know you’re intimidated, but … your 'size' isn’t that important at all, really." At hearing his comment, Akechi’s eyes widen comically and a small blush appears on his cheeks. "I know it’s hard not to compare, but, even if Goro-chan’s smaller than the rest of us, as long as you know how to use it it’s-"

"Yes, yes, all right I’ll be joining as well!!" Akechi chimes in with a nervous laugh, resigning himself to go as well as long as he can’t avoid having _that_ type of conversation with a brute like Ryuji. He sees Akira smirking from the corner of his eyes and the flush on his cheeks just grows redder. Stupid Phantom Thieves...

After the boys are finally settled, and seeing how even Akechi is going with everyone, Futaba straightens up all of a sudden and lets out a courageous scream.

"Y-yes!! I’ll do it!! For my training!!! FUTABA, OUT!!!" she says in a loud voice as she runs downstairs.

"Wait, do you have all your things ready?!" Makoto goes after her, all worried, and Haru follows them while giggling. 

Once downstairs, everyone makes their way to the bathhouse, separating for the time being as they enter the changing rooms. 

The boys make quick work of undressing and head straight to the washing area before they can access the large steaming tube at the end of the room. As they’re taking care of themselves, Ryuji notices how Akechi keeps his eyes glued to the floor, and he can’t help the shit-eating smirk that appears on his face. 

They each take a spot in front of the taps, Ryuji and Akechi next to each other while Akira and Yusuke sit behind them. The blond starts preparing all his things to clean himself when he suddenly hears Akira’s voice.

"Yusuke, do you need help?" he can easily tell the kind of look the leader has on his face by the gentle tone of voice he’s using.

"I’m not in need of any assistance, thank you," the artist responds, curt as always.

"You sure? I don’t mind."

"Well, if you insist… I guess it will be easier if you help me wash my back."

He hears one of the plastic stools scraping the floor and a happy tune with Akira’s voice starts to fill the air around them. He turns to his side right in time to see Akechi rolling his eyes not very subtly, and Ryuji snorts at seeing the other like that. 

A few minutes pass, and a new conversation raises form behind him.

"Shall I assist you as well, Akira?"

"Yes please. Can you do my hair?"

"Your… hair? You can easily wash it by yourself, I assume."

"Not really, I went to the gym yesterday and my arms are really sore… It’s kinda hard to keep them up for a long time you know."

Ryuji raises an eyebrow at that statement. They did not go to the gym yesterday. And he knows Akira’s not the kind of bro to go to the gym without his bestest bro. The dirty liar…

"I see, that’s quite the predicament. I’ll gladly help you then."

"Thanks~"

Ryuji lets out a small sigh and decides to concentrate on finishing so that he can finally go soak on the hot water. He stretches a bit once he’s done and stands up, turning to look at the rest of them.

"I’m don- Yusuke what the fuck?"

When he sets his eyes on the pair behind him, he sees the tallest boy carefully patting Akira’s soaped up hair, as if trying to sculpt on it.

"I’m trying to carve a perfectly formed sphere. The density of Akira’s hair is perfect to maintain the shape," he responds without looking up, fixated on his work. 

When Ryuji looks down at Akira’s face, he sees a faint blush on his cheeks and his now too familiar 'Yusuke-is-doing-something-adorable-again' face. Now it’s his time to groan a little bit.

"I’m… going to the bathtub."

"Me too," he looks at Akechi, also standing up and with the same look as him. To imagine that he would bond with him over something like this… He then sees a mischievous smirk start forming on the detective’s lips, which weirds him out. He’s about to ask him about it when Yusuke interrupts him.

"Wait for me, please. I’m almost finished as well," the artist says, still not looking at them, giving one last pat to Akira’s hair

"I’ll be there in a minute, I need to condition my hair before that," the other boy explains as he moves to grab another bottle.

"Condition…?" Ryuji asks confused.

"Where do you think all this fluff comes from?" Akira simply responds, starting to wash the excess soap from his hair.

"’Kay… come when you’re done."

The three of them make their way to the large bathtub and sit down. Finally, time to close his eyes and rest for a bit…

"Say, Kitagawa. Last week I visited this exhibition in one of the private galleries near Ueno, and I would like to know your opinion about it. Are you familiar with this artist?"

Ryuji opens one of his eyes slightly and sees that Akechi’s sitting next to Yusuke.

"Ah, I know exactly to which one you’re referring to. I must admit I feel rather jealous you could go, the brush stroke technique on those painting is just-"

Ugh, art talk. He’ll pass. He closes his eyes again and tries to relax once more, when he suddenly hears Akechi saying...

"Next time, the two of us can go together if you want."

"Such a kind offer on your part! I can’t refuse."

Ryuji opens both his eyes in a flash and turns his head toward them. Was Akechi this close to Yusuke before? And why was he smiling at him so… innocently? Meanwhile, Yusuke is in his “art mode” and doesn’t seem to register anything around him, smiling back at Akechi as if nothing’s wrong.

"Of course. I want to hear your opinion on it, I always seem to agree with your critique on this kind of pieces."

"Your praise is excessive. I’m merely on the path to learn true art myself…"

"Nonsense, I think your style is pretty polished already," Akechi’s smile widens. He looks as if he’s genuinely having fun, though there’s a small playful tint in his eyes.

"Yet again you overestimate my abilities…"

At that moment Akira comes in, quirking his head to one side at seeing those two sitting together. Akechi casts a quick glance to Akira and closes the distance between him and the artist. Ryuji recedes a bit into the water and proceeds to watch the scene unfold.

"Hey," Akira says, sitting on the other side of Yusuke.

"As far as I know, the gallery won’t change the exhibition until summer, but I know of some of their contacts that will start taking pieces from several overseas artists that I think might interest you," Akechi continues to talk with the other, ignoring Akira’s presence.

"Truly?! Please, tell me all you know about them. My curiosity’s overflowing right now."

Akira crooks one of his eyebrows and tries to join in the conversation from time to time, but he doesn’t seem to be able to keep up with such high tier of artistic talk. As time goes by, the leaders face turns harder and colder, his eyes starting to consume Akechi with a deadly stare that Ryuji has never seen before.

At some point in the conversation, Akechi decides to get even closer to Yusuke, making their thighs almost touch. Then’s when Ryuji’s inner alarms go off. That’s too close. Way too close. He’s never even seen Akira being that close to Yusuke!! He see the raven’s eyes start to widen and his mouth closes in a thin line. 

That’s it. Ryuji decides to take action and apply the bro code. In a quick motion, he swings his arm on the surface of the water and splashes the three boys with a huge wave of hot water, making Akechi take the majority of it. 

"Ryuji, that was so immature of you!" he hears Yusuke protest, coughing a little bit and taking his wet hair out of his face. 

"Enough!! Let’s talk about something else!!" he gets closer to the group, trying to ease the situation down.

"Haha..hahahaha, you sure are full of surprises Sakamoto," Akechi turns his smile to him, hair a mess all around his head and eyes gleaming with a murderous intent. Ryuji shivers a little bit.

"T-that’s what I’m here for, surprises…!!" though a bit scare, Ryuji sits next to Akechi and ruffles his hair a bit to try and erase his deadly stare. He suddenly stops. "So… so soft… do you use conditioner as well?"

Taking advantage of the situation, Akira manages to steal Yusuke’s attention away, subtly winking at Ryuji as he does so. He also takes his dark flocks of hair out of his forehead, and when he’s done he extends his arm along the back of Yusuke’s shoulders, pulling him away from the detective. The artist turns his head to look at the raven and smiles at him, much more gentle than when he was talking with Akechi, and their conversation moves on to other topics. 

***

Meanwhile, the girls are already relaxing in the hot water, though Haru can’t seem to stop the frown upsetting her features. She tries her best to hide her poor mood, joking and laughing out loud, but she seems to do a poor job of it as Makoto calls her out.

"Haru… I’ve noticed you a bit upset during dinner. Is everything ok?"

"Oh…" the girl responds, frown deepening. "I’m sorry I worried you…"

"It’s ok," Makoto says to her kindly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don’t want to bother you…" she replies in a low voice, looking at the water.

"It’s not a bother, really," Ann joins in the conversation, looking at Haru with caring eyes. "Is it something we can help with?"

Haru seems to hesitate for a moment, not really knowing what to say, but she decides to let in a starts speaking, letting out a small sigh.

"To be honest… It’s about Akechi," she starts explaining without looking up. "I know we don’t have any real proof of it, but he’s probably related to what happened to my father… just thinking about that makes me sick to my stomach," she closes her eyes, hurt clear on her delicate features. "And now, knowing that he probably wants to hurt all of you as well… I just can’t stand the thought," she shakes her head slightly and clutches her chest. 

"Yes… I can understand how you feel," not knowing how to comfort her, Makoto only acknowledges her struggles and places a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"You know, since starting this game will all of you, everything else seems… a bit better," Haru continues to talk, now finally opening her eyes and looking at the rest of the group. "All the problems with Okumura Foods and my fiance are much easier to deal with, because I know you’re all here with me. Playing has made me realise how much you mean to me," though a bit sad still, she tries to smile to the girls to make her point across. "Having Akechi join as well also helped me to get to know him, and I have fun being with him too, but… when I try to think of him as someone else of the group, I find it impossible. Having him join such an intimate event with everyone today’s really conflicting me."

"I… I know what you mean," Futaba suddenly says in a small voice, her eyes lost observing the massive body of water. "He’s probably related to what happened to my mom too…" she adds in a sheepish tone, curling into herself and avoiding the other’s gaze. "I get how you feel..."

"I’m not saying I necessarily want him out, but his presence… confuses me," Haru concludes, sighing again.

"I see…" Makoto simply says, being in deep though now.

"It’s true that’s a weird situation, huh…" Ann muses aloud, also getting lower into the hot water. "Sometimes I wish I knew how Akechi himself feels about it… I seriously can’t tell what’s going though his mind."

"I feel the same, I would like to know what the other’s thing too. Akira sure can be cryptic when he wants to," Makoto adds with a small huff of frustration. 

"Well… it doesn’t matter what happens, we’ll always have each other’s back, ok?" says Ann, moving closer to Haru to grab one of her hands. "You have us now Haru. Now and always."

The young girl feels her eyes stinging a little by the overwhelming emotions taking over her at her friends sincere words. She responds with a simple nod and they all go back to enjoy their bath together. 

***

"Ryuji, you brought your sleeping bag, right?"

"Yup," he responds while unrolling it, setting it on the floor.

"We found a spare one on my house, so we can use it too," says Futaba, before lowering her eyes to the floor. "I’ll sleep on the couch with Mona… I-I’m not ready to share a bed with anyone yet…"

"It’s ok Futaba, don’t worry about it," Haru smiles at her. "I’ll sleep on the bed, if it’s all right with everybody."

"Sure, I’ll sleep with you if you don’t mind," Makoto tells her, smiling at her warmly.

"Of course not," she chuckles lightly and sits on the bed, tugging at one of the sleeves of her frilly pyjamas. Makoto rests a hand on her shoulder, making her stop fidgeting. 

"I’ll take one of the futons then," Ann chimes in and plops down on said place.

"I’ll take the other one," Yusuke imitates her and sits down on the other futon.

"Since the sleeping bag is yours, I’ll sleep on the futon with Yusuke then," Akechi smiles at Akira and starts heading to his self-designated spot. Akira raises his eyes from the floor, where he had been preparing the sleeping bag, and eyes him with a cold stare, memories of the bathhouse still fresh on his mind. And what’s with that first-name basis all of a sudden? 

"You can sleep on the sleeping bag," the raven tells the detective in a stern voice.

"Oh no, I wouldn’t want to impose," he says back, giving him the fakest smile Akira’s ever seen.

He then turns to look at Ryuji, eyes still cold. Ryuji grimaces. A bro’s always gotta help his best bro…

"Aaaaaahh… w-why don’t you sleep on my sleeping bag, Yusuke?" the thought of sharing a futon with Akechi is not precisely pleasant, but it’s better than trying to stand Akira’s deadly glare.

"I’m pretty sure I’m too tall for it…" Yusuke answers, eyebrows furrowed.

"And for that one?" he points at Akira’s.

"Well, I don’t know… but I really don’t mind sleeping on the futon, I prefer it hones-"

"I want to sleep on the futon, you take the sleeping bag," Akira says harshly and moves towards them, eyes still intensely glued on Akechi.

"...Understood," knowing better than to argue with his leader, Yusuke swaps places with him. Meanwhile, Akechi just widens his smile and settles down on the futon.

"Weeelll….." Ann says while looking awkwardly between the rest of the girls. "Good night everyone…"

"Good night."

"Night!"

"Sleep well everyone."

"Ryuji don’t wake all of us up if you have to go to the bathroom."

"Fuck off!!!"

**[New message] Yusuke to Akira**

**Yusuke (23:49):** Akira, sorry to bother you through the phone but I didn’t want to wake up the others. I apologize if I did something to offend you, I know I’m not the best at picking up social clues.

**Akira (23:50):** Don’t worry, it wasn’t your fault. Akechi just gets on my nerves sometimes

**Akira (23:50):** I didn’t want him to mess with you

**Yusuke (23:51):** I didn’t feel like he wanted to, but I bet you would know better than me. It is true that I found it rather strange that he approached me with such friendly conversation while we were bathing, but I didn’t think much about it. I quite enjoyed it honestly.

**Yusuke (23:51):** I’m glad you’re not upset with me though, that would make me rather sad.

**Yusuke (23:51):** Also, I want to thank you for letting us stay tonight, I had a lot of fun.

**Yusuke (23:51):** Good night Akira, see you tomorrow morning. Sweet dreams.

**Akira (23:53):** Don’t worry you’re ok, he was just playing

**Akira (23:53):** I’m glad you had a great time. Sleep well Yusuke

**[New message] Ann to Akira**

**Ann (23:43):** You need to chill

**Akira (23:43):** I’ll stab Akechi on the dick if he ever dares touch Yusuke

**Ann (23:43):** You

**Ann (23:44):** Need

**Ann (23:44):** To chill

**Akira (23:44):** He wants to steal my treasure. I won’t let him

**Ann (23:45):** Ugh I hate it when you get mushy like that

**Akira (23:45):** I’m serious, he was all over him on the bath house doing some smartass art talk and merely getting ON TOP of him

**Akira (23:45):** And now he wants to sleep with him? Over my dead body

**Ann (23:46):** Srsly?

**Akira (23:46):** I’m sure he was just messing around, but… it really got me you know

**Ann (23:47):** I bet. Maybe it was vengeance for all the teasing during the game?

**Ann (23:47):** Also, Yusuke probably didn’t notice so don’t worry about it

**Ann (23:47):** On the bathhouse Haru also told us that she doesn’t feel comfy with Akechi around

**Akira (23:50):** Is she ok?

**Ann (23:50):** I think she’s better now, but I feel bad for making her deal with all this…

**Akira (23:50):** I’ll try to talk to her tomorrow

**Ann (23:50):** Ok, thanks ❤︎ 

**Ann (23:52):** You two stop talking and go to bed

**Ann (23:52):** Night

**Akira (23** **:52):** I can’t, he’s being really sweet right now

**Akira (23:52):** Besides I want to stay up with my phone for a bit longer to bother Akechi with the light of the screen

**Akira (23:53):** Night

***

Morning comes, and though they’re all reluctant to wake up, they do so eventually. As they’re all getting up and greeting each other, Akechi makes quick work of gathering his things and turns to the rest of the group.

"Sorry I didn’t tell you beforehand, but I have some things to do this morning and need to leave early."

"Oh…" Ann says, looking at the rest of the thieves. "It’s a shame but… guess you can’t help it, huh."

"Well, I’ll go get dressed and I’ll take my leave then," he smiles at everybody and makes his way to the stairs.

"Wait," Akira says before he takes another step. "Let me make you some coffee at least."

"Oh, you don’t need to…"

"Have to make it for the rest, it’s fine," he shrugs and goes downstairs before Akechi, not letting him say another word.

The young detective only nods his head a bit and goes down as well, getting into the bathroom to put on his casual wear. Once he’s all groomed and ready for the day, he exists and takes a sit on the counter, where the leader of the thieves has already placed a steaming cup of coffee.

"Thanks," he says in a low voice before he takes a sip.

"So, did you have fun?" asks the raven without looking at him, starting to select different types of beans to prepare more coffee for everyone.

"…." Akechi sets his cup down and stares at it, thinking for a bit. "Yes. I did," he responds in a serious and, he hopes, sincere tone, and lifts his head up to look at the other.

Akira’s already looking back at him, glasses a bit lowered down the bridge of his nose. He scoffs a bit and flashes him a smile.

"Cool. Come next time too."

The other boy responds with a muffled 'I will' before chugging down the rest of the coffee, standing up and quickly walking out the establishment’s door. Before he leaves, Akira sticks his tongue out to him.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group’s been busy tidying up the attic before heading downstairs. One by one, they make their way to the cafe proper, but before Yusuke can leave Ryuji grabs him by the elbow and takes him away from the rest.

"Hey, make sure to sit with Akira while we eat ok?" he murmurs to him, as low as he can. Yusuke looks at him confused.

"Why would I…" then, his face lights up with realization "I knew it. He really is angry at me… But what did I do?" he mumbles, lowering his head with a sad look.

"No! He’s not! Just, just do it ok?" the blond says exasperated, worried that he’s complicated the situation. "It’s because it will… make him happy, yes?"

"Understood…" the taller boy replies, eyebrows still knitted together. 

The all manage to make their way down, still in their pyjamas, and each take a sit. The majority of them sit on one of the booths while Yusuke takes the stool where Akechi was sitting previously, right in front of Akira. 

The raven smiles at him sweetly before turning his eyes to Haru, calling her before she sits.

"Haru, wanna help me make the coffee?" he offers to the girl, showing her the beans he just finished grinding.

"Me? I would love to, but I don’t have any experience…"

"That’s how you learn. Come."

"I don’t think anyone would want to drink a coffee made by an amateur…" she says, still doubting herself, though she walks behind the counter with the brunette.

"I will gladly drink it, if you allow me," Yusuke volunteers himself, letting out a small chuckle as he continues. "I doubt it will be worse than the one Akira made while he was still learning, that bitter taste still haunts some of my dreams at night."

"Hey…" Akira protest, blushing a little bit. Haru giggles next to him. "I just… tried to put some love into it, ok? Anyway, first you need to do this…"

Akira begins to instruct Haru on the process of making a Leblanc special coffee, slowly taking her through all the steps and making sure she understand every one of them. Yusuke watches them attentively from his seat, marvelling in the image and framing them with his fingers to create a mental image so that he can translate it into paper later on. 

It takes a bit longer than usual, but the coffee is finally finished. Haru and Akira serve the cups to their friends and take a sit as well, her on her previously designated spot on the booth, next to Morgana, and him on the counter, with his dear artist.

"I hope it’s ok…" the girl says, a bit sheepish.

"Just by smell I can already tell it’s good!!" Morgana chimes in, tail flicking happily.

"For being your first time, it taste really great," Makoto compliments her, setting his cup down. "You just need practice."

"Yes, I agree with Makoto. Experience will elevate your coffee to the required excellence, don’t worry about it," Yusuke assures her while nodding, making the girl blush a tiny bit. "It’s good that your teacher is quite skilled as well," he turns to Akira and smiles at him now, sipping at his coffee again.

Akira looks at him for a few seconds before smiling back, and he makes their knees bump slightly.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, mister Kitagawa," he responds, jokingly.

"Oh, not even a helping of curry?" Yusuke casts him a side glance and humours his joke, not bothering to move his leg to separate it from Akira’s.

"Well, we’ll see," he laughs a bit and turns back to the rest. "Seriously Haru, it’s pretty good."

"Thank you everyone…" though her cheeks are still a bit flushed, a pretty smile is decorating her face now.

"We should all take a photo together!!" Ann suggests, wanting to keep the cheerful mood up. "We didn’t remember to do it last night."

"But Akechi’s gone now," says Ryuji, licking the last bits of chocolate milk out of his lips.

"Yes…" Makoto tries to look at Haru form the corner of her eye. 

"We can have Inari paint him in with the phone’s photo editor," Futaba suggests glancing up from her phone.

"That’s hardly a proper tool to use," Yusuke complains, utterly disgusted by the idea. "But I guess we must make do with what we have…"

"Ok, everybody come close!!! Akira you take the photo!!"

**[New message] Akira to Rolling Thieves**

**Akira (10:38):** *cameraroll5684.jpg*

**Akira (10:38):** Akechi you’re the bean on the corner

**Futaba (10:38):** Looking cute, Goro-chan

**Yusuke (10:39):** I must admit, it looks rather decent even though it was created with such a basic tool. 

**Goro (11:03):** What have you been doing...?

***Ann set cameraroll5684.jpg as the profile picture***

They stay chatting even after Sojiro comes in, who tells them that if the want to stay downstairs they need to wear proper clothing. After more bickering and laughing, each of them finally takes their leave and goes back to their respective homes.

***

**[New message] Yusuke to Haru**

**Yusuke (12:26):** Hello Haru, I apologize for bothering you after we just saw each other, but there’s something I would like to ask you.

**Yusuke (12:26):** Is it strange I didn’t like Akira sharing the futon with Akechi?

**Haru (12:35):** Oh my!

**Haru (12:36):** No, I don’t think it’s weird. Do you know why you didn’t like it?

**Yusuke (12:39):** Not really. It just made my chest hurt.

**Haru (12:43):** I see. Has this ever happened before?

**Yusuke(12:43):** Let me think about it…

**Yusuke (12:48):** Now that you mention it, yes, but not because of Akechi. When Akira’s busy and can’t meet up with me or, sometimes, when I need to leave Leblanc because it’s late, it happens as well.

**Haru (12:50):** I think maybe you should talk to Akira about this. It only happens with him, right?

**Yusuke (12:50):** Yes.

**Yusuke (12:50):** All right, I’ll take your advice. I will bring it up if the situation allows it.

**Yusuke (12:51):** Thank you for listening, Haru.

**Haru (12:56):** It’s not a problem! Anything I can do to helpヽ(*・ω・)ﾉ

**Haru (12:57):** Tell me how it goes when you talk to him!

**Yusuke (13:00):** I shall do just that. 

**Yusuke (13:00):** I also wish to ask you about your mood. You seemed rather gloomy, tough you quickly cheered up this morning.

**Yusuke (13:01):** How are you feeling right now?

**Haru (13:04):** Oh, I’m sorry I worried you Yusuke!

**Haru (13:05):** I’m better now thanks to you all. You’re really sweet.

**Yusuke (13:07):** I’m glad to hear that. Please feel free to confide in me if you ever need someone to talk to. 

**Yusuke (13:07):** Have a lovely day, Haru. See you soon.

**Haru (13:10):** I’ll keep it in mind! You too! ❤︎ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aren’t these kids the cutest? I tried to make it extra long and extra sweet to compensate for last week! <3 I came back on Friday and I didn’t have a lot of time to work on this, so sorry if it’s poorly written or there are more mistakes than usual. 
> 
> In case you’re interested, I decided to turn my unused [twitter account](https://twitter.com/nature_check) and use it for fic updates and notes + general nerdy ramble, so feel free to follow and come talk to me about D&D! 
> 
> Thank you all for your patience and your continued support, we’re going back to our regular schedule now! See you next week <3
> 
> PS: To the one person that voted Monet for the puppy’s name, I wanted to say… thank you for loving Yusuke Kitagawa, you’re welcome in my house anytime.


	13. Black doom

Are you enjoying the forest hike? Lucky for you, if you really intend to reach the very centre of Kashira, where the source of this strange fey magic is located, you still have half way to go. Now that, thanks to the abilities of your druid companion, you discovered that the spores floating around in the air are malignant to both you and the plant life, I hope you brace yourselves for the journey to come. Before we start though I want to make a correction… Persephone you’re immune to the Sleep box as well because of your elf heritage, so please remember that for next time. 

"Oh, nice!" she quickly writes it down on her notes.

"Better to have two people rather than one," her aasimar companion nods. 

So, what would you like to do?

"I think we were just going to continue… we did everything we could to protect ourselves from the spores, right?" Adriael asks the rest.

"I mean, I don’t know if we can actually do something about it… Let’s make sure to prepare the restoration spells the next time we rest," the cleric of the group adds.

Grate, if you want to continue then I will need some survival checks. The flora’s so thick now that it’s considered difficult terrain so you have disadvantage on your rolls. 

"Same as last time, yes?" Marga asks Félix with a sweet smile.

"Let’s go!!" responds the feline, ready to throw. 

[9]

[22]

"My other one was a nat 20… wasted for nothing…"

"It’s ok Mona, next time!"

Excellent! You expertly guide the whole group through the thickening wood, making sure to avoid any dangerous looking plants or suspicious clusters of thorny vines. However, you can’t really avoid breathing some of the spores, even with your protections… Everyone make con saves again please. But… Robin and Eran, since you’re both poisoned already you have disadvantage on them. Let’s start!

Pego: [19]

Félix: [10]

Robin: [1]

"Stop," Persephone says looking at him very serious.

"Enough, throw those die away," Pego says after her.

"It’s fine, I’m not superstitious," the warlock responds with a faint smile. 

Adriael: [9]

Marga: [14]

Eran: [3]

Tauros: [24]

"What the fuck," Persephone says somewhat offended.

"What? That’s what I’m all about," Tauros shrugs. 

"Distribute points between the team, please..."

Persephone: [22]

"Oh never mind I got a nat 20," she says now, displeasure completely erased from her face. 

Pego, I need you to roll for Goro-chan.

"Are you going to hurt my puppy?" he asks, hand on his chest and the most offended expression on his face.

"Can we change the name, please…?" Robin says, eyes lowered to the table.

"No, it’s official."

"Does she have any bonuses or anything?" asks the rogue as he plays with his dice.

I mean… she’s a small Pomeranian, I don’t think she has a lot of con… give her a +1.

[1]

"NOOOOOOOO!" half of the table screams in unison. 

"Is this because of the name? Is she cursed?" Persephone wonders horrified. 

"Ok if this keeps happening we need to change her name," her genasi companion says just as perturbed. 

Goro-chan gets poisoned…

"I’ll pick her up and carry her in my arms…" Pego says with sad eyes.

She nuzzles against your chest whimpering a little bit, her ears and fluffy tail lowered. 

"My pup..."

"Oh poor thing…"

All right, so… Adriael, Félix, Eran and Robin are now poisoned. Since Robin and Eran were poisoned before as well, on top of the disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks you have temporary -1 dex for the next 24 hours.

"Shit, this is bad."

"Should we rest now?"

"But I think the sun’s still up…"

Yes, it’s mid afternoon more or less.

"Well, I could cast lesser restoration again at higher levels… Do we need it?" the feline cleric asks the group. 

"Wait a moment. How far are we from the centre?" says Adriael.

If you keep pushing, with a nice survival check you could reach it by nighttime.

"So if we keep going we’ll probably have to fight whatever’s in there…" Marga says in a pensive tone.

"Having disadvantage on attack rolls is really not ideal then," adds Robin, thinking on the best way to proceed as well.

"Maybe we should get rid of it and if something happens when we get there… well, that’s a problem for our future selves," the wizard proposes. 

"If I do it I’ll have only one 4th level spell slot and 1st level ones," Félix announces.

"Did you count the puppy too?" Pego asks him, face serious.

"Of course not," scoffs Félix. Pego button-mashes his head, making him yelp.

"Mmh… let’s try to reach it stealthy and rest there before engaging? Scout the place out first?" Robin suggests looking at the group.

"I like that option better… let’s do it," the rest seems to agree with Persephone as well.

"Well, Félix you should still use one slot to cast Pass without trace."

"Yes, I’ll cast it right away."

Ok, so I’ll have you all roll stealth +10 for me first and then we’ll make the survival checks. You’re carrying Goro, right? So she doesn’t need to make it now. Remember the people who are poisoned have disadvantage.

"Oh, right…"

"Maybe we should have healed it…"

"Well, it’s too late now."

Persephone: [30]

Tauros: [28]

Eran: [20]

Marga: [14]

Adriael: [20]

Robin, before you roll. As you take a step into the forest, feeling your lungs ache from the poison, a warm tingle runs up your spine, embracing the entirety of your body and suddenly you feel as good as new. When you realize that you’re feeling different, you see some of the roots near your feet part too, and a low chuckle fills your ears. Your poison’s been cured, so you don’t have disadvantage. 

"Oh, quite convenient," the tiefling smiles happy.

"How did you do that?" some of his companions ask surprised. 

"Your patron?" Pego say, more a statement than a question, him eyeing him from the corner of his eye. The warlock just shrugs. 

Robin: [22]

Félix: [23]

Pego: [39]

"That… that hurts," Tauros says with a sheepish face.

"This is what being an effective party member feels like."

"Ok, fuck off," some crumbled papers fly over Pego’s head. 

Ok. Marga and Félix, I want those survival checks please. With disadvantage.

[7]

[10]

Unfortunately, now that the path is so difficult to navigate though and the spores in the air are obscuring part of your vision, you can’t find an easy way in. You spent most of your time avoiding all the roots and vines trying to trap some of your teammates that didn’t manage to be stealthy enough and alerted them. Marga please, if you could make a dex check for me. You have advantage because they’re evil plants, and you’re a druid. 

[18]

Ok, with some help you manage to get away from them. Nevertheless, the sun is almost down already and you didn’t even manage to proceed a third of the way in. Quick note, Goro’s puffed out and gone back to her statuette form. You won’t be able to summon her again until next week.

"Goodbye sweet child… "

"Well, we’re resting then."

"You said there are more spores now? Did something else change around? Something that can tell us some new info?" asks Pego, turning a new page on his notebook.

Mmh… make… an investigation roll for me please. 

"Someone help, I just realized I’m really bad at this."

"I’ll help you!" Persephone offers.

[16]

[12]

Just like before, the amount of plant life has grown compared with before, and the spores are almost covering the entire floor by now. That also applies to all of you. You have a coat of shimmering particles stuck to your clothes and hair. It smells pretty bad. You also notice some of the trees have slashing sings, some of them are broken down, and parts of the earth are sinking in in strange ways… you remember being told that all the fauna on the forest died some time ago, so you wonder what it could be... That’s all you can manage to figure out.

"We need to prepare for tomorrow. As much as we can."

"Clearly, there’s something else in there beside what’s producing these spores…" Eran mousses aloud. 

"Yes, let’s carefully go through our spells and check the items we have in case we can use any of them," Adriael takes her notes with the party items and places them on the centre of the table. 

"Could we cure the poison with the pocket spa?" Tauros asks as he lazily scans the item list.

No, but it does give you advantage on initiative.

"Ok, first restoration for everyone who needs it, and then spa."

"WITHOUT singing this time, please," Adriael says looking at Eran with a stern face.

"How distasteful, I’m quite good at my craft, I’ll let you know," the bard responds straightening up a little. 

"I don’t want to risk the advantage for that," she says, shaking her head.

"I’ll listen to you sing," Pego suddenly butts in the conversation.

"Ah, you wish to hear my songs then? I’ll gladly do so. Please, allow me to roll."

Sure, go ahead. Make a performance check.

[24]

Jeez… higher than I expected…

"... No actual song?" asks Pego with a disappointed face.

"NEVER an actual song again," he responds with a firm tone. 

Since you are the only one listening Pego, on top of your advantage on initiative I’ll give you a free re-roll for the next 24 hours.

"What?" Adriael exclaims, eyes wide. 

"Damm… we should listen to him next time as well," whistles Tauros.

I wouldn’t give that bonus to the rest of you. But, you know… if it’s Pego, he WOULD get this inspired…

"Thanks for acknowledging my weakness," the rouge says with a sly smile.

"I don’t quite follow…" adds the bard, confused by the exchange.

"Don’t worry about it," he smiles at him sweetly.

Ok, so everyone gets to the spa, the poison is gone… is there anything else you want to do before we keep going?

"Yes," says Marga as she looks at Adriael. "I want to take the communication notebook and send messages to the rest of the team while Robin’s on the spa, just to give them a heads up."

All right, so 6 uses less… anything specific you want to write?

"Mmh… I don’t think so?"

Ok, get all your things ready, we’re going deeper in!

"Let’s see… I can prepare Lesser restoration this time… and also Protection from poison! That will surely be useful," Marga hums happily as she prepares her magical arsenal. 

"All right, I’ll have restoration too.. and I’ll keep Pass without trace because I suppose we’ll want to go stealthy…" Félix says as well, carefully guiding Pego’s hand so he writes on his sheet the proper spells. 

"Should we send someone ahead to scout a bit first? In case there’s a trap…" Adriael proposes, waiting for everyone to finish. 

"Uuffff that’s… dangerous…" Persephone grimaces as she shakes her head up a bit form her own spell list.

"If Pego has Pass without trace it should be pretty easy," Robin adds, agreeing with the monk’s idea. 

"But he needs to be in range for it to count," Félix points out.

"I mean, I can go without it," the rogue says with a small shrug. 

"No, it’s far too dangerous," says the bard as he shakes his head.

"But still, better than everyone going…" Tauros adds, trying to balance a pencil between his upper lip and nose. 

"Well, first we should get closer first, it’s still pretty far away…" Persephone concludes, and the rest agree with her. 

"Ok, let’s get that +10 and cast some Protection from poison… If Pego is going ahead he should definitely get it… then Tauros, and.. I can do 1 more, then I’m out of 2nd levels," Marga explains, eyes trained an all her papers. 

"Adriael, maybe? Her con is not that high and she’s useful in battles," purrposes the cleric.

"All right, it is done!!"

"Let’s go then…"

Stealth and survival one more time please.

Persephone: [27]

Tauros: [24]

Eran: [20]

Marga: [27]

Adriael: [28]

Robin: [17]

Félix: [20]

Pego: [1]

"AKIRA!!!"

"What the fuuuuuuccccckkkkkkkkkkkkk..."

Mmhh… let me roll… [22]. Welp, you don’t need those survival checks anymore because suddenly, you hear a loud stomping sounds coming from deeper into the trees accompanied by a low grunt. You see trees starting to fall rapidly, following a straight line right to where you are.

"Great."

"HIDE, NOW!!!"

I’m going to use your last stealth checks. You all manage to hide well enough, but Pego, you get your leg trapped in some vines and can’t seem to get out of their grasp. The stomping sounds are getting closer.

"Fuck, can’t I do anything to get out?"

Roll strength.

[19]

"It was a natural 20 but I have -1 strength…"

Ok, you manage to escape, but you’re still right there.

"I cast invisibility on him!!! At 3rd level!!" Marga suddenly screams.

Very well, just as the spell goes off, you see something come rushing from between the trees. Its body is so massive that the trees get bend and break down, making the shimmering pinkish spores accumulated on the floor rise up. You manage to see a shape in the dust; Big snout surrounded by two long, pointy horns. Claws with sharp talons sinking into the earth below. Leathery wings fully open, giving it an intimidating presence. Once the dust finally settles downs, you see the glowing spores in the air get stuck to its black scales, giving it an ethereal look. Right before you is a young black dragon, pissed and actively searching for you. 

"D-dragon...?" asks Adriael, the only one who seems to be in control of her voice.

"WHAT," Persephone suddenly yells when she’s regained her composure. 

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WE’RE BABIES IT’S TOO EARLY FOR A DRAGON!!!" Tauros screams as well, slouching back on his chair and hands covering his face. 

"What are we going to do…?!" Marga panics as well, looking around the table. 

Marga I need you to roll another stealth check to see if they noticed you casting, and Pego you as well to see if you manage to stay still. Since you’re invisible, you have advantage, and both of you still have the +10.

"I’ll go, then," says Pego.

[39]

Marga? 

[28]

Let me roll for the dragon… [23]. You manage to stay still, but now the dragon is right in front of Pego, taking their time to look around in search of whatever it was that dared get so close to their territory. You hear a chuckle escaped from between their pointy teeth, and they say “Pesky little intruders… Do you really wish to die so bad, that you dare defy Kokutanmaru?” Are you engaging or are you fleeing?

"We need to get Pego out of there."

"Are we REALLY gonna fight a fucking dragon?!!"

"I don’t like this…"

Very well then. Everyone, roll initiative!!!

_[Skill challenge: Battle with Kokutanmaru, Keeper of Kashira]_ _The players can choose 1 of 3 options: attack, free action or aid a companion. Once the option is selected, the player will roll a d10 to see to which degree said action is successful: 1-5 fail, 6-8 mild success, 9-10 great success._

_Each player has a total of 10 hit points. When said hit points reach 0, the player dies._

_Those players with healing abilities may do so using a free action; on a mild success, they restore 1 hit point, and on a great success, 2._

_Every 2 rounds, the players must make a constitution check to see if they avoid being poisoned.]_

Remember you have advantage on your rolls thanks to the spa. Let’s start!

Kokutanmaru: [24]

Eran: [22]

Adriael: [21]

Tauros: [19]

Pego: [18]

Félix: [16]

Marga: [16]

Robin: [15]

Persephone: [13]

You managed to stay hidden from Kokutanmaru, so I’ll give you a surprise round. Also, remember that this is still difficult terrain, so depending on what you want to do you’ll have disadvantage. Eran, you’re up first!

"I’m first....? What should I do…?" Eran knits his eyebrows together in deep thought. "I think I shall aid Adriael with some inspiration."

Very well, she’ll have advantage on her roll. What do you want to do, Adriael?

"Guess I’ll… come out of my hiding place and attack it…?" she says, shaking a bit from nerves.

"You’ll try to punch the dragon to death?!"

"What else am I supposed to do!!"

[8]

Nice, you come like a flash of light out of the purple bush you were hiding behind and manage to give them a direct hit on their front knee, making them lose 1 hit point. 

"Only one?!"

I mean… It’s a dragon, it’s really sturdy. Tauros, you’re up!!

"I wanna hit them RIGHT IN THE FACE!!!"

[5]

As you try to jump to reach their face, you fall face first into the ground right next to where Pego is, but you can’t see him. Speaking of which, it’s your turn Pego.

"Mmh… I’m still invisible, yes? I want to go hide behind a tree or something without they noticing me."

I’ll allow it as a free action, but the difficult terrain is working against you. Go ahead.

[4]

You trip with Tauros’ leg and fall as well. Roll again to see if you get spotted or not.

[4]

"... Nice," he says with a sigh.

Kokutanmaru laughs a bit and says “Oh, sneaky prey… I like playing with my food”.

"SHUT UUUUPP THAT’S CREEEPPYYYYY!!" Tauros screams, shaking a bit to control the shivers going down his body.

"Oohh nooooo we’re dooone fooooor," Persephone whimpers with fake sobs. 

Félix, you’re up.

"I want to get those two dorks out of there but maybe it’s too dangerous… I think I’ll stay hidden for now."

Very well, you don’t need to roll then. Marga?

"Could I… try to control the plants around me and at least get them standing up?"

Well… You could with Tauros but you can’t really see Pego… I’ll only allow it if you roll a great success.

[3]

The plants seem to be dead… you can’t call to them. Robin!

"I’ll attack the dragon and try to distract them from those two."

[9]

Well done!! You send an Eldritch Blast right inside their mouth while their laughing, making them suddenly shut up and growl at you angrily. Finally, Persephone!

"I will… Attack them too."

[5]

Your fireball arcs away and actually sets aflame one of the broken trees surrounding the area… Now, next round. It’s Kokutanmaru’s turn.

"Oh no…" Persephone grimaces, hiding her face on her hands.

"Uuff, here we go…"

You see them puffing out their chest, cocky laugh escaping their sharp and jagged teeth, and they say “Tiny scum like you will dissolve easily”. They take a deep breath through their nostrils and open their mouth, letting out a spray of greenish looking liquid. The acid breath actually targets at random, but since some of you are hidden, this time it will target… Pego, Tauros, Robin and Adriael, who are out in the open. You all lose 3 hit points.

"That’s… bad."

"That’s nasty."

"Ok… brace yourselves everybody."

Eran, it’s your turn.

"I can heal, yes? I want to try and heal Pego."

[4]

You are so nervous by the intimidating presence of the black dragon that you’re enable to concentrate on the spell. Next up, Adriael.

"I’ll attack once more time."

[10]

Uuhh nice!! You hit them right in the same spot as before, managing to double the damage dealt! 2 hit points! Following you, Tauros!

"Gimme some too you asshole!!"

[3]

Unfortunately, you trip with one of the many roots protruding from the ground and fall again. Pego, you’re up. 

"Attack."

[4]

Another miss… come on guys, get it together!! Félix, what do you want to do?

"I want to heal Adriael, please."

[6]

Very well! You manage to restore 1 hit point. Marga?

"I will heal as well, but Tauros instead."

[3]

Just like Eran, you can’t concentrate and you can’t do your spell... Robin, your turn.

"I… want to use a free action to create and illusion and distract them somehow, see if they don’t attack us next round."

Ok, I’ll allow it. 

[3]

They clearly see the magic energy coming from your hands, and their eyes instantly get trained on you, their rumbling voice echoing around the forest area with a sickening force “Trying to fool me? Stupider than I expected”. Persephone, you’re go now.

"Jeez, I don’t have anything special to do… I guess I’ll attack?"

[1]

You miss with your fire bolt one more time, but now the loud impact has caught Kokutanmaru’s attention, whose eyes get trained on you as well. “Dangerous weapon to bring into the forest. You better stop, or you’ll be my first snack”.

"NOOO AAAHHH STOOP!!!" she grabs Tauros’ hand on a deadly grip, making the barbarian yelp a bit in pain. 

Before next round starts, I will need everyone to make some con saves for the poison.

"We still have this shit…"

"They don’t roll?" Adriael asks with an angry eyebrow raised. 

They’re immune, let’s go!! Remember, some of you have Protection against poison.

Eran: [19]

Adriael: [8]

Tauros: [17]

Pego: [22]

"Natural 20," he says with a smug expression.

"Shrugging off poison like a pro."

Félix: [9]

Marga: [7]

Robin: [21]

Persephone: [14]

Adriael, Félix and Marga… you are poisoned. You have disadvantage on any rolls considered an attack or a free action. If you get poisoned 2 more times, you’ll fall unconscious and all attacks against you will be doubled.

"Excuse me?"

"THAT’S SO UNFAIR!!"

"Crazy!!"

Let’s continue. First, let’s see if the breath gets back… [7] Not quite! Instead, this time they will attack Robin, who hit them pretty hard and tried to trick them, and Persephone, because she keeps using fire attacks.

[1]

[9]

They miss Robin, but crit Persephone... You lose 2 hit points. Eran, your turn.

"All right. I hope this works on our advantage… I want to open the Sleep box."

"WHAT?!"

"But it will affect us too!!"

"Indeed. And hopefully, the dragon as well."

Ohohoh, very interesting… everyone but Eran and Persephone roll a wisdom save for me please. Beware those with poison...

Adriael: [18]

Tauros: [10]

Pego: [21]

"Another nat 20."

"You’re on a roll!!"

Félix: [11]

Marga: [12]

Robin: [1]

"Ok, change dice, now," Pego says very serious and gives him his spare set.

"All right…" he accepts begrudgingly, switching his dice by the ones his companion has offered. 

Kokutanmaru: [19]

"Oh no…"

“Nice song, thanks for the performance. I enjoy nice music while eating.” They laugh and lick their jaw with a long and slimy tongue. Tauros, Félix, Marga and Robin, you’re all asleep. 

"I’m sorry, I thought it would be a good call…"

"Don’t worry, let’s see what we can do now," says Adriael. "Can I try to wake them up?"

Sure, if you reach them… but it’s still difficult terrain so you’ll have disadvantage. Though you already have disadvantage form the poison anyways… go ahead.

"It’s all right. I want to reach Félix."

[3]

Your legs get wrapped around some vines and you can’t move. Tauros is sleeping… Pego!!

"I want to wake someone up too. Marga."

[2]

Those vines are really difficult to go through, and all the floor covered in glowing purple dust is not making it easy either… Félix, Marga and Robin are sleeping, so… Persephone!!

"Ooh, what should I do… I i try to wake up Tauros!"

[4]

None of you can move from your spot… Next round comes, and.. [3] damn, the breath is still not back. Seeing who’s sleeping, they’ll attack Robin one more time, and Tauros, who also attacked them earlier.

[6]

[3]

This time they miss Tauros, but do hit Robin. Mark minus 1 on your health. Good news though, you wake up!! Eran, you’re next. 

"Very well, let’s see if I can heal Robin…"

[7]

Well done, you get your hit point back! Adriael, your go.

"Nap time is over, Tauros!"

[7]

Nice, you wake him up!! Tauros, it’s your turn!!

"Come here little wormy!! I’ll fucking smash your face!!!"

[2]

Still a bit groggy from just waking up, you entirely miss your attack. Pego!

"..." he stays pensive for a bit, laced fingers hiding his mouth and gleam of his glasses obscuring his eyes. "I want to look at the dragon and say 'Please, stop your attacks. Someone requested us to come here and asked us to have an audience with you'. And I’ll activate the Liar’s choker."

Oh!!! OH!!! Ok, you need to roll a d20 for a charisma check. 

[18]

You pass the DC… anything you says up to the next round will be believed. Kokutanmaru relaxes their aggressive position and looks at you “Audience…? Who could possibly want something with me?”

"The masters," the rogue says, calm as ever.

"Duuuuuuudeeeeeeee….."

“You’ve met them as well? Tell me, little human, what could their interest be with a insignificant being like you? What power did they bestow upon you?” They don’t attack you, but they start passing around as if surrounding a prey. Combat is stopped for now. 

"No powers. Just send us to assist you."

“Help from someone like your lot? And first thing you do is attack me?”

"I mean… big scary dragon," he shrugs. "Sorry about that."

“Huh. What could it be in their minds… You’ll protect the Grove with your lifes, then?”

"Exactly. Say, we take this task gladly, but I would like to know more about the masters, what can you tell me?"

“Insignificant insect, you don’t even have the privilege to see them” they laugh at you “If you truly act on their behalf, you should come announce your alignment to the Grove, instead of me” The minute passes. Thankfully for you, what you said is not so crazy that they’ll make and insight check. If you want to keep lying though, you’ll have to make deception checks. 

"Ok… Can we… go? To the centre…?," asks Persephone somewhat scared.

“You’re too many, I don’t trust you just yet. Specially the little wizard with fire magic” They growl directly on Persephone's face, making her hair rise up a bit from the breath escaping their mouth. “Just this one may come.” They gesture to Pego.

"Can I at least have a companion? I… you intimidate me."

Mmmhh… Roll persuasion for me. 

[16]

“Huhuhuh… honest human. Very well, just one.” Who do you want to come with you?

"Who should it be…?"

"Honestly I would like to take someone who can heal me. You know, just in case," he says, not really worried about it.

"I don’t mind going," Félix says. "I mean if you’re the one doing the talking… but maybe it would be better to have two people lying?"

"I don’t mind going," Robin quickly volunteers himself.

"… Based on Marga’s note, I don’t think I would trust him to come with me," Pego simply responds, making one of the warlock’s eyebrows arch a bit.

"Eran then?" Persephone suggests.

"I only have Healing word… it’s not much help," the bard responds.

"What else do you have?"

"Let’s see…" he takes one of his papers and examines it. "[Suggestion](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/suggestion), but I doubt it would be useful with a dragon… [Skywrite](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/skywrite), if we need to send you a message… [Dimension door](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/dimension-door) if we need to escape… [Polymorph](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/polymorph)…"

"I think that would all be quite useful."

"And besides, he knows lots about plants and stuff, he’ll probably manage to do something with the thing that produces this spores," Persephone adds, just realizing it.

"Very well, I’ll come with you then."

Ok, so you step forward next to Pego. Kokutanmaru lowers their head a bit, carefully eyeing both of you and sniffing you before giving a loud tsk and turning around. “Follow me. No funny business, or I’ll have an early snack.” And you start making your way into the centre of Kashira right next to the massive body of the black dragon. We’ll go with you in a bit. The rest of you… what are you doing? 

"What should we do…? Should we follow them from behind just in case?"

"Yes, but we need to be REALLY careful, and follow from quite a distance…"

"I can still make some people invisible, but I already used many spells…" Marga proposes, though not very sure. 

"Maybe we should get some heavy hitters closer and the rest follow behind?"

"Sounds good," everyone agrees. 

"Maybe you should give it to Adriael then. She’s pretty stealthy," Robin suggests.

Ok, so Adriael is invisible. Do you go ahead behind them? You have advantage on your roll…. but you’re still poisoned! So a straight roll.

"Oh dear, we still have this going on…"

"I completely forgot…" she laments.

[25]

Very nice. How close do you want to be?

"100 feet?"

Ok, and the rest?

"Maybe… 130 feet from Pego and Eran?"

Understood. I need all of you to make stealth checks too.

"Do we need Pass without trace again?" asks Félix.

"Some of you are poisoned too, right? It’s probably a wise decision…"

"Done then."

Persephone: [27]

Tauros: [27]

Marga: [17]

Robin: [28]

Félix: [24]

Kokutanmaru’s passive perception is 16… You just made it. Ok, so you start following them. Now, you two. You carefully make your way in next to Kokutanmaru, path easier to walk thanks to the already smashed trees they destroyed on their way to engage you. You stay quiet for a bit, until they raise their voice. “I want you to make sure you keep that little elf girl under control. Fire is not welcomed in the Grove.”

"Yes, I’ll make sure she behaves," Pego responds. "Eran, hold my hand. We need to stick together."

"Sure…" Persephone whispers, squinting her eyes at Pego.

"Understood," he nods. "I… I don’t wish to interrupt, but the Masters never fully explained what our mission was, they only instructed us to seek you and speak with you. May you be so generous to enlighten us on our actual goal?"

… Make a deception check.

[22]

“You protect the Grove from all that may harm it, until the expansion is completed. If you prove to be loyal, I’ll probably assign you to the expansion edge and make you follow it until it reaches the plains surrounding Kashira”.

"Grove?"

They stop and turn to look at you, yellow eyes eyeing you with an evil intent. “The Grove is what will turn the nature of this pitiful plane of existence into something worthy to behold. If you don’t even know that much, I doubt you’ll actually be of any help”. They scoff at you angrily and turn to continue their path.

"And… what do you gain with it?" asks Pego.

“What is it to you, human?”

"I mean, if we’re going to work together…"

Roll persuasion.

[17]

“My intents are of no interests to a lowly being like you. Keep your nose to yourselves.” They cut you off, not wanting to talk to you anymore. You follow them for another good 20 minutes until you reach a clearing, so bright it momentarily blinds you. Once your eyes adjust, you can see now the vast cluster of thousands and thousands or neon purple mushrooms scattered all over the trees, floor, rocks, and around the pond right in the centre of the forest. It’s difficult to tell them apart from the ridiculous amount of spores dancing around in the air, but you can see they vary in size, some of them smaller, and some tall enough to reach your torso. You see Kokutanmaru carefully manage their way through until they reach the biggest fungus in sight. “They were not intruders. The Masters send them to assist.” You see the fungus shake a little bit, making some more spores rise, and then you hear and annoyingly high pitched voice say “Assist. Take, Kashira. Trust?”

"... The mushroom is talking?" Persephone asks, mouth open. 

"What. The fuck."

“That is for you to decide” the dragon says. “Here. Come. Want to see”. Do you go closer?

"Should we?" Eran asks Pego, expression worried.

"Don’t let go of me, it will be fine. Let’s get closer."

Ok, so you make your way right in front of the fungus. You can feel Kokutanmaru’s warm breath against your backs, large body menacing above you.

"Now that I’m this close, can I tell something new about these mushrooms?" asks Eran.

Make a nature check.

[13]

You’re too scared to really make something out… Your hand is shaking like crazy in Pego’s firm grasp, and the air is so clouded you can barely see the fungus itself. Speaking of which, once you take your places, you hear “Who?”

"We… The Masters asks us to help you," Pego says, keeping his composure."We admire them deeply, and wish to help in their cause. Unfortunately, they don’t regard us high enough, and haven’t showed their faces to us… Can you tell us more about them?"

Make another persuasion roll.

[11]

"Shit..."

"Wait, I want to re-roll," he says, serious. "They could give us vital information."

Very well, take your roll.

[23]

Nicely done! The fungus shakes one more and starts talking “Came, in a dream. Offered deal with power. We accepted, we got power. We got smart, and powerful. Then, came to us. All of them, with flying. Told us we could do what we want. We want forest, we want food. We take. Watch us, always. If happy, more power. Masters be happy, always.”

"Watch us…? They’re watching right now?" Pego asks once again.

“Always. Masters know. Watch, always.”

"Shit… do you think they know who we are?" Tauros asks to the rest of the group.

"Can you tell us a way to contact them? How can we make them happy too?" Eran joins in. 

“Enough,” Kokutnamaru’s tail lands heavily right next to you, making a big puff of spores rise up. “Show us your mark, or offer your lifes to the Grove”.

"Marks…?" the bard asks confused, looking at his companion.

By this point, you all reach the center as well, and see this scene unfold. Do you want to do anything?

"Let’s stay hidden for now… but be ready to take action. Let’s all spread around in a circle," Adriael instructs the group. "If I can, I want to get a bit closer to them."

Make another stealth check. 

[15]

Kokutanmaru detects your movements and turns around quickly.

"Hey, hey!" Pego says, raising his voice a bit. "I know I’m pretty hot, but it’s bold of you to ask me to undress…" 

“Stop fooling around. Show it or this whole show is over,” even though they’re talking, they start to make their way to where Adriael is.

"Oh, no… what can I do…" she starts to frantically look around on her papers, searching for a solution.

"Are they… getting away form the talking mushroom?" Marga asks, eyes lowered to the table. 

Slowly, but they are.

"Ok," Marga takes a deep breath and clutches her hands together. "I want to come running from my hiding spot, get to the big mushroom and cast [Blight](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/blight) on it."

"Ah wha…!!" Tauros says surprised, opening his mouth mid-munching and making some food fall to the table.

"Are you crazy?!" Félix yells at her. 

"Now or never!!" the druid responds with big resolve.

Ok… Let’s have the Grove roll a constitution save… Since it is considered a magical plant, it has to make it with disadvantage, and take the full force of it. Let’s see, you save is DC 14?

"Yes," she nods sharply.

[18] It manages to make the save… but you still manage to deal 32 points of damage to it. After seeing you rushing out, Kokutanmaru turns at you, growling angrily “YOU INSECTS!!”.

"I smash the mushroom as much as I can with my dagger," Pego quickly says.

"I’ll do that as well!" Eran adds, joining him.

Very well, both of you make a strength check.

[2]

[14]

Eran, you grab your flute and smash it against it’s top area, but only manage to hurt…

"I… I..!!" Persephone starts, somewhat hesitating. "I’ll cast [Fireball](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/fireball)…!!"

"Are you crazy they’re right there!!" Adriael yells at her, panicked.

"The dragon is coming, we need to bolt right now!!" she responds at her.

Very well, since the Grove can’t move it automatically fails the dex save. Marga, Eran and Pego, please throw for me, DC 16. Marga, you are poisoned so you have disadvantage. You first please.

[7]

Ok… Eran.

[1]

"Yusuke..!!"

"Not right now dude…"

Ouch… Pego?

[1]

"AAAAAAHHHH!!!"

"Guys you are KILLING ME!!!"

All of you fail… Persephone roll damage for me please, 8d6. 

"I rolled two 1s and two 6s…" she says, half crying.

[27]

Congratulations! You manage to set on fire the entire Grove, and kill it off completely. However… You now have a very angry dragon snap their head right in your direction and yell “LITTLE ELF GIRL!!!” as they take a big breath of air and let out a spray of acid on your direction. You didn’t have to get closer to cast the spell… But I think Robin and Tauros are pretty close to you, yes? All three of you make a dexterity saving throw. Meanwhile, what are the rest of you doing? 

"O-ok, I’ll go first…" says the wizard, hands shaking.

[1]

"NOOOOOO!! No no no no noooo!" she says hiding her face on her hands. 

"Come on Ann…" Tauros rubs a hand up and down her back and throws as well.

[5]

Robin, please.

[4]

Guys… you all take full damage… you take 49 points of acid damage. 

"I’m at 1 hit point…" she says, hands over her mouth and eyes watering. 

"What?!" Tauros takes her sheet out of her hands to look at it.

"How are you all doing?" Pego quickly asks the rest.

"Not very well either… I’m at 10," Robins says, expression hard.

What are you doing guys? The dragon is making a beeline right to Persephone.

"I want to grab a piece of the fungus flesh, grab Pego’s hand and Dimension door us out of there," Eran says, voice frantic.

Very well, make a strength check please.

[3]

You can’t manage to tear even a little piece out… Do you Dimension door anyways?

"Uggh… yes!!"

Ok, which direction?

"Full 500 feet away from there."

Ok, the rest, are you doing anything? Kokutanmaru’s almost in front of Persephone now.

"I will-" Marga starts to say, but she quickly gets interrupted. 

"FUCK YOU YOU STUPID ASSHOLE!!!!" Persephone screams angrily, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "I’LL CAST [BANISHMENT](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/banishment) ON THEIR ASS!!!!"

"Oh shit!!" Tauros says, now covering his mouth as well.

Ok…!!! Kokutanmaru needs to make a charisma saving throw DC 16 or be banished to another plane of existence. [25] Their rolled a natural 20 plus 5… 

"What?!" Persephone says, fully crying. 

They take a claw attack against you… [15]. Does it hit you?

"My armor class is 11…" she says wiping tears out of her face.

…. You all see Persephone’s body fall limp beneath one of the black dragon’s claws.

"I SMASH THEIR FUCKING LEG TO RELEASE HER!!!!" Tauros starts screaming.

"I will heal her right away!!!" Félix says almost at the same time.

Ok, we’ll roll for that now. Marga, what did you wanted to do?

"Try to grab a piece of the fungus."

Roll strength.

[15]

Ok, you manage to get a small piece of it. Anything else?

"Yes, I want to Wild Shape into a Giant Eagle and go where the rest of the group is."

Very well, that’s it. Tauros and Félix?

"I don’t care if I hurt them, I just want to make them let her go."

Ok, roll strength then.

[7]

They’re pushing on her body too much, you can’t manage to do it… Félix?

"Cure wounds her at 4th level."

Ok, roll 4d8 + 4.

[20]

Persephone opens her eyes again, back with 20 hit points. Robin, Adriael, are you doing anything?

"Aahh…" she says, shaking and looking at the warlock desperate.

"We need to start getting away," he says looking back at her.

"O-ok, I’ll run to the direction Eran and Pego went," she decides.

"Me as well."

Ok, Eran, Pego?

"Keep running?" the rogue asks the other, who nods back.

Ok, Persephone you’re back on.

"I will try to Banish them once more," she says, her tears still fresh on her face.

Let’s see… [16] They just make the save…!!!

"Nooo not agaaaain!!!"

Seeing that you’re alive again, they’ll attack you once more… [9] Thankfully for you, the acid breath doesn’t come back… [22] for hit. Ok, you take… 2d6 + 2… [9] points of slashing damage.

"Ok, ok I’m still up…" she sighs, her breath still a bit jagged. 

Tauros, Félix?

"I try to get her out again!!"

[9]

"Come one duude!!!!!"

You can’t manage to do it… Félix?

"Ok, I will spend my last 4th level spell and cast [Guardian of Faith."](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/guardian-of-faith)

Very well, it engages face first with Kokutanmaru and manages to hurt them a bit. Marga?

"I will try to get Persephone out as well."

Ok, I’ll would give you advantage since it’s now occupied with the Guardian, but you’re poisoned so straight roll. Use the eagle’s strength please. 

[15]

Yes, nice!! You manage to get her out!!

"Oh, thank god!!"

Adriale, Robin, Pego and Eran, do you keep running?

"Yes," says Robin.

"Should we wait for them?" Eran says looking at Pego.

"Yes, let’s hide somewhere and see if we manage to spot them."

"Yes, I will do the same since I’m still invisible."

Very well, the three of you roll stealth then. Eran, you first.

[11]

Pego, your turn.

[22]

Adriael, with a straight roll because you’re still poisoned.

[1]

"Oh no…"

Ok… keep those numbers in mind for now. Marga, your turn.

"All right, I can carry two of you and fly away, but I don’t know which ones…"

"Wait wait!!! We have the pocket spa!!! We can get inside and then you can carry all of us!!!" Félix says, suddenly realizing it.

"But Tauros and Félix go after the dragon," Adriael points out. 

"Ok, wait for my turn, I’ll get in and then you carry those two. Persephone adds, somewhat more calm now."

"Yes, let’s do that."

All right, let’s say you do that. Persephone is on the pocket spa and Marga is carrying Tauros and Félix. The eagle’s fly speed is 80 feet. Kokutanmaru sees you flying away and tries to follow, but the Guardian stops them in place. Now almost all of you are fleeing. The three who are hiding, what do you want to do?

"There’s no way we have any idea what is going on…" Eran says.

"Do we see them flying up?" asks Pego.

I’ll let you and Adriael roll perception checks.

"Ok, I’ll go," Pego throws.

[15]

"Please.. roll high…"

[1]

"Uugghhh….!!!"

Both you and Eran see it.

"Ok…"

"Should I Dimension door us once more?"

"Yes, and then we’re running."

Ok, Adriael what are you doing?

"I’ll… I’ll wait…?"

Ok, I’ll give you all another round before Kokutanmaru starts chasing you all again. Are you all still fleeing? 

"Should I get us down? We’ll be spotted easily if we’re flying…"

"Can’t you make yourself invisible again?"

"Yes!! Yes I can!! All right, everyone inside the spa, then I’m invisible and we keep flying!!"

Ok, Adriale what are you doing?

"Guess I’ll run too…"

Very well… I’ll make you do one more stealth check to see if you manage to hide yourselves from the dragon. The ones inside the pocket spa don’t need it. Adriael and Marga, your advantage doesn’t work because you’re poisoned

Robin: [18]

Eran: [17]

Pego: [24]

Adriael: [18]

Marga: [20]

Let them roll perception… [9]. Ok. You all manage to escape the infuriated dragon trapped inside Kashira, but they’re still very much alive, and VERY aware of your existence. Even though you managed to kill the source of the plague destroying the forest, you still haven’t created a cure for it, and who knows what the consequences of leaving a vengeful dragon alive may be…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> …I need another week off after this.
> 
> This quest was based on the adventure “Death’s garden” from the Tal’dorei Campaign Setting book (page 43).


	14. Drinks and candy apples

And so, you continue your messy escape from the fearsome black dragon protecting Kashira. You journey for two days until you reach the largest city of the clustered civilizations living around the forest area. You decided to warn them about what’s living near their home, and entrust their alchemist with the piece of fungus you managed to steal, in hopes they’ll be able to create an antidote for the poisonous spores that plague the forest. Having passed the task to more capable hands, you prepare yourselves to enjoy a good rest in a comfortable inn. On your way there, you find something unexpected.

"Oh shit not again please," grimaces Tauros.

"I need a break, like, now," Persephone adds, voice tired. 

"Question," Pego suddenly says, raising his hand.

Yes?

"Is Goro-chan back?" a low grunt escapes Robin at the mere mention of the puppy.

Nope, you need to wait a week.

"Mmhh…" the rogue seems disappointed.

Well, moving on. You start to pass streets decorated with colourful paper bands, and people laughing and running up and down the crowded city. As you take a turn on once of the main crossroads, you can see a big gathering of small tents and booths, forming a circle, in the city’s plaza. They’re offering delicious smelling foods and games to enjoy for people of all the ages. Seems you came in during some kind of celebration.

"There’s a fair?"

"Really?!"

"Oh ok that’s cool I’ll take that."

"Can we get closer?"

You push your way pass all the people gathered around until you reach the very edge on the booths and approach the first one placed on the entrance of the circle. A dwarven man is sitting on a stool behind the counter, and he quickly calls for your attention before you go any further “Hey there, travellers!! Here to join the fair? Are you looking to try out some of the games?”

"Hell yeah we are!!!"

“Good!! Let me explain how this works. We have a total of 9 games, you may give each a try once. In case you win the game, you’ll gain 10 points. Gather as many as you can! When you’re done, come back here and exchange your points for the prices we have available. That’s pretty much it. Here, take a list of the different games we have. Enjoy the fair!” And they hand you a piece of paper that say:

**COME AND PLAY, ENJOY THE ANNUAL HARVEST FEST**

**TRY OUT OUR GAMES AND WIN AMAZING AND MYSTICAL PRIZES**

Do you have a stomach of iron? Test your endurance in our eating contest! Or are you more of a heavy drinker? Show to all around just how many gallons you can swallow!

Does your talent reside on the strength of your muscles perhaps? Come crush your enemies on our exciting wrestling matches! Or if you prefer to work solo, show us how quick you can swing an axe on our wood cutting competition!

Quick on your feet? We have games for you as well! Try your luck on the quick and tricky dancing cups, or sharpen your precision skills with our aim games! Want something more exciting? Sign in for the obstacle race, taking place mid afternoon in the barracks’ training grounds!

And finally, no celebration would be complete without some entertainment! Join our host competition, or delight the audience with a magnificent performance on the talent contest taking place on the plaza’s stage!

Pick yours, and celebrate the Harvest Fest!

So, where do you want to go first?

"I’M GOING TO THE EATING CONTEST!!!!" yells Tauros nearly getting on top of the table.

"Brute!!" Persephone scolds him, pulling on his shirt and making him sit back down again.

Ok, you make your way inside the plaza and make a beeline to the booths next to the food tents. On top of them you can see a sign that says “EATING AND DRINKING CONTEST”. You approach and see a table filled with plates and plates of pastries, cakes and other types of confectionary. Next to it, another table, with jug after jug filled with a dark liquid you all recognize as coffee.

"What? Sweets and coffee?" the barbarian says confused. 

"Ah!!" Persephone gasps loudly. "Stand aside loser, this is MY thing."

You ask the staff about joining in. The ask you to select two people from your group to participate in each contest. 

"I’m going," says the wizard, radiating confidence. 

"I mean… who’s going to do the coffee drinking…?" starts Adriael, turning to look at her brunette companion.

"But Pego…?" finishes Félix.

"Leave it to me," the rogue responds, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose. 

Very well, we have Persephone on the sweets eating contest and Pego on the coffee drinking one. This is how this will work. You’ll each roll for some checks to see if you win your adversary. Best of 3 wins. So, who wants to start?

"Me!! Me me!!" says Persephone, very excited.

"Please, wait. Before they start, can I do something?" asks Eran.

What is it?

"Could I cast [Enhance ability](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/enhance-ability)?"

Mmhh… If succeed a sleight of hand check, I’ll allow it, because technically that would be considered cheating…

"I’ll take the risk then," he says while nodding.

[20]

Skilfully manage to hide your hands so that they don’t see you casting. To who are you giving it?

"I’ll cast it at 3rd level and get both of them. I’ll choose the Bear’s Endurance buff."

Nice!! Both of you will have advantage on your rolls. Quick note before we start. Robin. As you take a sit to watch your companions stuff their faces with food and beverages, you feel all your muscles lock up and a piercing, cold pain goes through your skull. You hear a very familiar voice in your ears whisper “Disappointment”. Please, mark down a point of exhaustion, which gives you disadvantage on all ability checks.

"Mmmh…" says the tiefling, expression blank. The rest of the table exchanges awkward glances.

Ok, Persephone. You take your place next to the other contestants and get ready to go. The staff yells the sign to start and you grab a nice and creamy looking piece of chocolate cake and start devouring it. Make a constitution check!!

"I’ll win this or I’ll be shamed forever!!!"

[21]

"Oh my god!" Tauros says, completely amazed.

Well done. Let’s see what you opponents do… [10] First round goes to Persephone!! Roll again!!

[12]

Not as good, you choke on a piece of cupcake. Let’s see… [9] But you still manage to take the round!! One more and it’s yours!!

"You better buy me some actual sweets if I win this!" she says, throwing her dice with a flair.

[8]

Uuff…it’s getting hard… you need to take a sip of water to stop everything from escaping your stomach. [12] in this round your adversaries manage to catch up with you and take a slight advantage. Fourth round!!

[17]

Let’s see if this is it…!! [7] Yes!!! Gathering the last bit of strength you pull through and swallow down the last scone resting on your plate!! You gain 10 points!!

"Yeeeeeeey!!!!" she exclaims, clapping and jumping up and down happily.

Well done, congratulations!! Now, it’s time to move on to the other competition… Pego, are you ready?

"As ready as ever," he says, voice calm and a cheeky grin.

"I think you should actually drink coffee while you do it," Tauros adds, same smirk as the other.

"Yeah…" starts to response the rogue.

"No," Eran and Adriael say at the same time.

"Aaah, you’re boring," responds the genasi with a pout.

Let’s start. You take your sit and grab the first cup of black coffee. Roll!!

[19]

Starting strong! [15] You take the first round without a problem. Next!!

[10]

Tauros is making silly faces at you and makes you snort some of the coffee out of your nose. [5] But it seems the others are also affected by it!! Can you do it in three rounds?

[16]

Aannndd… [19] Despite your endurance, the others manage to catch up. One more!!

[18]

[16] This time you manage to finish just as the others start burping and quitting in mass!! Another win for our adventurers!! 20 points!!

"That Enhance ability was a good call," the rogue compliments his bard.

"Thank you, I’m glad I was of assistance," he responds with a pleased smile.

Yes… Don’t think I will be easy on it next time… Which games do you want to try now?

"Ok, now IT IS my turn!! I’m going to the wrestling contest!!"

All right, that’s next to the wood cutting one… who would like to take it?

"It has to be me, right?" Marga responds with a small laugh.

I would be disappointed if it wasn’t. Well then, Tauros, we’ll start with you. You move on to the other side of the plaza, where the strength contests are, and run to sing in to the wrestling contest. You start to stretch and flex your arm in preparation, when you notice that the sign say “Thumb Wrestling”.

".... Are you not gonna let me have fun?" he says, hard look on his face.

Never. So! You wait for a while and they make you come in. Just as before, we’ll have the best of 3 win this contest. Are you ready?

"Hell yeah!! I’ll win this without any buffs!!"

Take your first roll!!

[13]

[18] Your first opponent smash your thumb SO HARD you think she might have broken it. But you still have a chance to win this!! Roll again!!

[11]

[19] Once more, she’s so quick that they catch your finger before you even realize!! You have once more try, come one!!

"Duuudeee come ooon!!!!"

[9]

"Oh no…"

[19] Complete and utter defeat for our barbarian… You point count is still at 20.

"Hatethisstupidfuckinggameidon’tevenwannaplayanymore," he mutters under his breath, arms crossed in front of his chest and a souer expression on his face.

"Come on, come on…" Persephone tries to cheer him up a bit.

"I will take the win and restore your honour, Tauros!!" Marga says to him, doing an awkward thumbs up in his direction.

"HELL YEAH YOU WILL SMASH THEIR FUCKING FACES!!!" his mood seems to have recovered quickly.

Nice!! Moving on the wood cutting competition… Seems that the woman that defeated Tauros will be your adversary, Marga.

"I’ll take her head on!!" she hits her chest lightly, as if giving herself extra courage.

"Do you want help? I can cast Enhance ability too," Félix offers to her.

"No!! This is a question of honour!! I will face her with my own strength!!"

"YEAAAAAHHH GOOOOOOO!!"

Let’s start then!! You take your axe in a firm grip and swing it down on the first log. Roll!!

[3]

"Oh no…"

[23] She takes the first round without a problem… But don’t give up!! 

"I won’t!! This is for my friend!!"

[19]

Very nice!! [8] Yes!!! You catch up to her!! Keep your momentum!!

[12]

Ok, ok… [12] You go neck and neck cutting those logs with superhuman speed!! We’ll consider this round a tie. Keep going Marga!!

[9]

[19] She manages to gain advantage on you, once again..!! It’s your last chance to stop her!!

[11]

[10] You’re sweating like crazy and your hands start to hurt like hell from how hard you’re gripping the handle, but you won’t give up!! 

[3]

"Nooo…"

"Wait! Wait, before she goes," she suddenly says.

Yes?

"Could I cast… [Plant Growth](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/plant-growth) and make her log harder so that she can’t chop it down?"

"Hell yeah," Pego says, nodding approvingly. 

You don’t need to touch it, so… I’ll allow it. Make a sleight of hand check for me.

[19]

Uuhhh, very well!! Let her roll perception… [16] You manage to cast the spell!! What do you want to do?

"Make the wood as hard as I can."

Ok… let’s do this. I’ll give the log a DC of 19. If she manages to pass it, she wins. If not, the win is yours. Agreed?

"Yes!!" she nods rapidly, clutching both her hands in front of her chest as in prayer. 

[20] Even with your efforts… she chops it down with one powerful swing… no more points for your team.

"Oh well… I tried my best. Sorry," she says, looking at Tauros a bit sheepish.

"You kidding?! You manage to tie with her and beat her twice!! You already did amazing, you’re the new muscle of the team!!" he responds, excitement radiating from him. 

"Oh, you’ll make me blush," she giggles, cheeks turning red. "Next time, I’ll fight off with you!"

"Come at me any time!!"

Ok, we still have some games left… Who wants to go now?

"I want to try the aiming game, if I can," says Adriael.

All right, next to it it’s...the Cup game!!

"I’ll take it!" Félix chimes in, tail flickering. "Now way they can trick me!"

You move on and approach the next row of booths, each signing in on your chosen game. Since you’re not competing with anyone this time, I will make you roll to see if you pass the DCs for each game. We’ll see what you get first, 3 successes or 3 failures. You want to go first, Adriael?

"Yes please."

Ok, you set yourself in front of the counter, small rice-filled balls ready in your hand, and glare down a the cups arranged on a pyramid. You’ll have to pass a dex check of DC 15 to win. Start!! 

[7]

First ball arcs wide. Next throw!

[9]

Second one goes off as well! One more fail and you’ll lose!!

"Mmhh..." she mutters, eyebrows knitting.

[11]

Last ball gets lost as well… One more game failed, your point count is still at 20. 

"I’m sorry…" she says, eyebrows still furrowed.

"It’s ok, it was pretty hard!" Marga cheers her up, reassuring hand on the monk’s shoulder.

"All right, my turn!!" Félix says.

Very well, you’ll have a insight DC of 15 to see if you manage to tell in which cup the ball is hiding. The employee of the booth presents to you the three brown cups, quickly making them dance around the table, and asks you to make your choice. Roll!!

[14]

Almost..!! You get confused and chose the cup right next to the right one. Roll again!!

[15]

Yes, this time you manage to get it right! One success and one failure, keep going!

"We will win this game, for sure!!"

[27]

"Nyahahahaha, natural 20!!!" the feline says proudly, chest puffed out and ears perked up.

"Nicely done Mona!!" Marga compliments him.

"Awesome," Pego lightly fist bumps with his front paw.

Just one more, you can do it!

[17]

And finally, you manage to score one more win! Point count goes up to 30!

"Huhuhuhuhu… of course I won!"

"You’re so reliable Mona!"

"Amazing job!"

"You goooo Morgana!"

"Nyaaa...hahaha...!" Félix starts rubbing his face with his front paw, apparently embarrassed. 

You still have time to try out the last two games before the obstacle race starts.

"At last, my time to shine," says Eran, wide smile on his lips. "I think it’s quite obvious that I’ll be taking the performance contest."

Of course you are. Very well, you separate form the arranged rows of booths and walk to the very centre of the plaza, where a big stage has been set. It’s decorated with colourful clothes hanging from it, and people are already gathered in front of it to see the first performances. Dancing, singing, juggling, some comedy routines… Everyone is showcasing their talents with joy. Eran, I just want you to make 3 rolls, and see if you get enough successes to pass. I’ll need you to pass performance checks of DC 15. Take your first roll!

"..." Eran throws his purple dice in front of him and stares at it for a while, face getting hard. "I want to ask for a re-roll, please."

What?

"You can’t just asks for re-rolls, what’s wrong with you?" Tauros asks him, somewhat upset.

"I am a professional entertainer, I make a living out of it. I can not accept such a poor result since it surely does not reflect my natural abilities. As such, I would like to roll the dice again."

"You can’t do that, what’s with you? This is not how the game works!!" Persephone scolds him as well, and the discussion picks up speed as that side of the table starts yelling to each other. 

"…." Pego watches the argument unfold, chin resting on one of his hands, as the other plays with a nut shell left after the pre-game snacking. Taking a small chance when the group turns to look at Futaba, sitting on the left corner of the table, he flicks the shell with his finger and makes it hit Eran’s dice, having it turn. No one seems to take notice, but a pair of black ears do perk up slightly.

"Besides, I think that a 13 is a pretty good number," Marga says, trying to calm down the bickering group of teenagers.

"13… ?" the bard repeats, somewhat surprised. "I could have sworn it was a 1… I apologise, seems like I was in the wrong."

"Jeez, dude…" Tauros signs, still eyeing him with displeasure.

Anyway… what’s the total then?

"18."

"That’s cheating you know," Félix mutters in a small whisper, eyeing his rogue companion with suspicion.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," he simply responds with a shrug. 

Ok, first check passed. The sound of your silver flute manages to move the audience, capturing their attention. Make your next roll please!

[24]

Nice!! The climax of the song comes in, and you bring it beautifully! The crowd cheers, some of them even crying from pure emotion, as their eyes stay trained on you to see how you’ll finish such a grand performance. Take your last roll!!

[22]

And with a flick of your wrist, the last note escapes the flute and you bow with a flair, crowd roaring madly and chanting your name in pure awe! You win the Performance Competition! 40 points! 

"Magnificent," Eran says, pleasure clear on his features.

"Well done!"

"Of course, it was to be expected."

And… for our last party member… Robin, do you want to take on the host contest?

"I don’t think I…" the warlock tries to refuse, weak smile on his face.

"COME ON! You still haven’t done anything yet!"

"Besides, you’re on TV shows all the time! I bet you’ll do wonderfully!"

Well, it’s more like a host club rather than a TV host, but sure.

"What?" Robin exclaims.

"Hell yeah dude," Tauros snickers devilishly.

"I really don’t…" he tries to refuse once again.

"Stop complaining and do it!!"

Ok. Right next to the big stage there’s a smaller one, with tables and chairs all over. They’re all occupied with groups of giggling young ladies patiently waiting for the group of beautiful host to attend them and steal their hearts away. This time, you’ll have to take contested charisma checks with you opponents. Are you ready?

"I suppose…"

Remember, you have a point of exhaustion so you have disadvantage. Let’s start!!

"Oh, wait," Eran interrupts. "I will Enhance ability him as well, so that he takes straight rolls then."

"It’s not necessary…."

"I insist, please allow me to aid."

"I can cast it instead if you want!" Félix chimes in.

"Very well… I’ll take it then."

Ok, you give him Eagle’s splendour I suppose? Then, you make straight rolls! Just as you’re about to enter the stage, you hear a voice in your ears… “Escaping punishment?” And a cold air runs up your body.

"A-ahaha…" Robins laughs, awkward.

Let’s begin, first roll!!

[25]

"I rolled a natural 20…" he says, not very pleased even with the good result.

Oh, so charming!! [8] You capture your clients’ attention with a single smile. What will you say to them?

"I-i need to say something?" he asks, caught off guard.

Of course! Go on, what will you say?

"Uumm… I hope we have a good time together…?"

Lame…. Next round, throw again!

[11]

You have a piece of seaweed stuck between your teeth…? [6] But still, your glittering grey skin and beautiful, deep eyes manage to swoop all the ladies around you.

"This is so embarrassing…" he laments as Tauros and Pego laugh at him.

Take your next roll!!

[10]

[11] One win on their side! Seems like they’re a veteran lady-killer, sending kisses all over and earning giggles all around. One more!

[15]

[5] And our handsome tiefling manages to win the ladies’ with his “pure boy” act!! Another win for our team, 50 points!!

"That Enhance ability was clutch," Tauros says.

"Yes, it’s a useful spell."

Very well. Finally, we have the last event of the day… The obstacle race!!! Who will you have participate?

"Please, let me do it," asks Adriael. "I want to redeem myself."

Fair enough. So you all gather your things and go to the training grounds, where the course is being set. You see tall walls to climb, muddy puddles to jump over, and polls to keep your balance to avoid sinking into the water. Are you ready to go to the starting line?

"I am."

Very well. Just like next time, I’ll ask you to roll to pass a dex DC of 16. Hope luck is on your side! Let’s start!

"I will not fail this time!"

[16]

Off to a good start! You pass the first part of the race without a problem! Next!!

[1]

"Aaahhhh," the monk hides her face on her hands, exasperated.

You trip with a rock on the path and fall face first into the mud… Unless you manage to get two successes on a row, your adversaries will manage to finish before you. Don’t give up!!

[20]

"Come ooooon Adriael you can do it!!"

"Keep going!! It’s almost there!!"

"Go Makoto, go!!"

Well done!! Just one more and the race is yours!!

[1]

"Seriously..?!"

"Oh no…"

You pick up so much speed you tumble with your own legs and fall again… The race is over before you manage to get back up.

"Well, it seems luck wasn’t on my side today…"

"You did well enough, it’s all right!"

So, you tried out all the games and got as many points as you could. You gather your things and make your way back to the information booth, ready to claim your prizes. The dwarf that’s stationed there greets you once more and collects your stamps “All right, so you got a total of 50 points. Each price cost 15 points, so you can choose 3 of them. Here’s the list of what we have!”

  * Puffy jabot: Ostentatious, fancy looking jabot. It grants the wearer advantage on persuasion rolls.
  * Potion of dragon breath: Vial containing a greenish, thick liquid. When consumed, you gain breath similar to that of a Green dragon for up to 1 hour.
  * Whip of levitation: When you manage to hit a target with this whip, it grapples them and makes them levitate for 3 minutes.
  * Towel of invisibility: Small cotton towel that turns invisible anything covered by it.
  * Purple oak flute: Wood flute that, when played, allows you to cast “[Otto’s irresistible dance](https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/spells#OttosIrresistibleDance)” if you succeed a performance check of DC 16. Once used, it can’t be used until 7 days.
  * Candies of excitement: Sour oval shaped candies that make anyone who eats them become very excited and agree to any plans for up to 4 hours. 5 uses.
  * Dancing figurine: Figurine of a dancing dwarf. Its alluring dance can alter the string of fates once per day, allowing 1 re-roll (the player who can re-roll must be chosen previously).
  * Noise chalk: Enchanted piece of white chalk that reproduces any onomatopoeic sounds you write with it. 300 feet radius.
  * Portable advisor: Small potted plant that offers advice when asked. Doesn't need to be watered, but appreciates it nonetheless.



As you carefully look over the price list, you take in the warm colours of dawn. The dwarf offers you some food and drinks, as a small reward for the extra points you won’t be able to use. And like this, you proceed to enjoy the small break from your adventures, celebrating the festivities with your companions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to give you the chance to choose more items, but our players didn’t have the dice on their side this time… Hope you liked the chapter anyways! I wanted to write something fun and silly after how intense last chapter was. I really enjoyed doing it! (Funny how I wrote all of this in a single morning while chapter 13 took me 3 whole days…)
> 
> [**HERE**](https://linkto.run/p/IFJCM5K7) you have the poll for the new items! You have until October 10th to cast your vote!
> 
> As always, thank you for reading, and have an amazing week! <3 Kisses and hugs and lots of love for you all. 
> 
> PS: As I was writing this, I kept fighting back the need to write a Pego/Eran fair date… Do I have a problem? I wonder if you would be interested in some small chapters about their characters being huge homosexuals…


	15. Special guest

"Ready?"

"I’m a bit nervous but yes, I think I am."

"Don’t worry! They’re all super nice, I’m sure you’ll love it."

Ann then turns to grab the handle of Leblanc’s door and opens it, taking on a cheerful tone as she announces their presence.

"We’re here!!"

"Lady Ann! You’re right in time!" Morgana chants happily, tail twitching.

"Hey," Akira greets as well from behind the counter. "Hello Shiho," he says looking at the girl hiding somewhat shily behind Ann.

"Good afternoon, Kurusu… It’s nice to see you again," she responds with a small bow.

"Let me introduce you to the rest! This is Futaba," Ann gestures to the smallest thief, hiding behind her laptop screen. "She’s the one that runs the game. This is Yusuke," she now points at the tall boy sitting in the stool in front of Akira, who bows in a polite greet. "And then there’s Haru and Makoto, maybe you’ve seen them before? They’re third years at Shujin. Oh, and this kitty is Morgana! I know it sounds weird, but he plays too."

"Hello everyone, I’m Suzui Shiho. Thanks for inviting me to play with you," she introduces herself to the rest of the group, taking another small bow. 

"Not at all! The more the merrier," Harus says to her with a sweet smile, which helps ease the girl’s nerves a bit.

"Want some coffee?" Akira offers. "We need to wait for the rest anyway."

"Ugh, Ryuji’s ALWAYS late…" Ann complains with a grunt, sitting on the booth were the other two girls are.

"Is Sakamoto the only one missing?" Shiho asks, taking the seat in front of her.

"Yeah, him and another one… but don’t worry about him," Ann quickly dismisses it. "Say, are you excited to play?"

"Yes, you always tell me so many funny things about this game, I really want to try it out," she responds, lowering her head a bit. "Though I don’t know if I’ll be good enough."

"Do not concern yourself about it, as long as you’re having fun, it is a win on itself," Yusuke tells her with a small smile.

"Ok, I’ll try to think of it that way," she responds and then turns to Ann, eyes curious. "And how does… the cat play?"

"Yes, I would like to know that as well," Sojiro says, suddenly coming out of Leblanc’s small kitchen. "Good afternoon," he smiles at Shiho. 

"W-well… you see…" Ann starts, not really knowing what to say, when Ryuji storms inside Leblanc with as much subtlety as he can.

"Hey, Shiho!! You really came, that’s awesome!" he quickly greets everybody else and sits next to their guest on the booth, squeezing himself in as he can. "So cool to see you again, how you doing?"

"It’s been a bit rough, but I think I’m doing well enough," she answers with a small smile, her eyes darkening a little bit.

"And what’s your character, huh? Are you a mage or a fighter?!"

"Well, that’s a surprise for when we start playing, right?" she responds with a giggle as Akira comes to their booth and places a cup of coffee in front of her. "Thank you."

"No problem, you should go upstair, be there in a minute," he says to the group as he moves behind the counter once more.

"Yes, let’s get going," Makoto says, getting up and waiting for Futaba and Haru to gather their things.

"It’s a bit old upstairs, but pretty comfy! You’ll see," Ann explains to Shiho as they take the stairs, followed closely by Ryuji.

"Akira, are you in need of any assistance?" the artist asks the other once everyone’s gone, still sitting on his stool.

"Mmhh?" he responds, looking up from the dishes he had been cleaning, a bit surprised by the sudden offer. "O-oh… not really, but you can keep me company?"

"Of course, it would be my pleasure," Yusuke responds with a smile, which makes the raven blush a bit.

"I’ll go upstairs too," Morgana announces, looking at them with a side-glance.

He jumps out of his own seat and quickly gets up the stairs. When he arrives at the top, he finds the rest of the group already preparing the large table they use to play, taking out notebooks, pencils, and dice sets.

"So basically, what’s going on is that there’s these guys called the 'Masters' that go around and give bad people power that they use to do bad things and such… and we need to find them and stop them," Ann seems to be explaining to Shiho the basics of their mission. 

"I see. So I suppose I’ll help you for today?"

"Yeah, basically," Futaba says, still a bit shy around the newcomer. Morgana jumps into the couch next to her and starts grooming himself.

"Huh, Akira got Yusuke?" Ryuji asks him.

"Well, I think Yusuke volunteered himself to be retained," the feline replies, licking at his paw.

"Really?" the blond says, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Is Sakamoto… talking to the cat?" the new girl asks, perplexed.

"Yeah…" Ann grimaces. "How can I explain this to you without it sounding weird…"

They take a few more minutes to set everything up, until Akira and Yusuke join them with more coffee cups and several snacks to share. Shortly after, the last member of the group appears, soft smile already plastered on his face.

"Good afternoon everyone. Ah, you must be Takamaki’s friend," Akechi turns to face Shiho directly. "It’s nice to meet you."

"L-likewise…" she responds somewhat shy, unsure on how to react in front of a celebrity.

"Sit your ass down Goro-chan, we’re gonna start!" Futaba says in mild annoyance, her DM screen and all her notes already prepared.

"Yes," he responds, not really caring anymore about the nickname the group’s gotten to call him.

"Where should I sit…?" Shiho asks as he turns to Ann, voice small.

"Uuhh… You can sit between Ryuji and me? And Yusuke…" the blonde girl responds, finger on her chin as she eyes the table.

"He can come to this side, I’m mostly on the table anyways," Morgana proposes as he jumps on said table, plopping his butt down on top of Akechi’s notebook.

"Understood," the artist responds with a nod, picking up his things and taking his seat between Akira and Akechi. "Please, treat me well," he says as he looks at both boys with a small smile.

"Always," the raven responds, his chin propped up on his hand and eyes locked on him, almost dreamy looking.

"Mmhh…" Akechi sighs slightly as he retrieves his notebook from underneath Morgana’s fluffy butt.

"Ok, let’s start!" Futaba says as she claps twice to get everyone’s attentions. "So, dear adventurers…"

***

"That was so fun!" Shiho exclaims happily as she takes a spoonful of curry.

"Right? Never thought I would like playing shit like that," Ryuji adds, himself already busy with his food.

"Yes, it was quite a surprise for my as well," Haru says. "It’s a shame you won’t be able to join us again…"

"Yes, I would like to keep playing too…" she responds, face getting somewhat dark.

"I-if you want, maybe one day you can facecam and play anyways…" Futaba suddenly buts in in a small voice, trying her best to apply her recently learned social skills.

"Really? I can do that?" she gasps, eyes hopeful. 

"We did it before once, when I was sick and couldn’t get out of bed. It worked quite well," Makoto explains to Shiho.

"Yes, you can join anytime!" Ann says to her, smile wide.

"Ok, I’ll tell you the weekends that I’m free," she nods at her, excited and happy she can keep being in contact with everyone.

"How’s the food?" Sojiro suddenly chimes in, wanting to know the opinion of the new member of the group.

"It’s so good, I never knew curry could be so delicious," she tells the older man, truly amazed by the taste of the simple dish. 

"Glad to know," he nods, smirking a bit. "Now come on kids, finish and go home, it’s late already," Everyone says a unison “yes” and resumes their eating. 

"Oh yeah, I got some movies on my laptop that we can watch before we go to bed…" Ann says to Shiho, their conversation carrying on to other topics.

And just like that, the entire group starts to slowly make their way back home. Akira greets them goodbye from over his shoulder as he busies himself with tidying up the used cups and dishes, ready to make everything clean before turning himself in. He hears a small shuffling sound, though, and when he takes his eyes up from the sink, he finds that there’s still someone there.

"Do you mind if I stay for a bit longer?" asks Yusuke, having taken the sit on the counter farthest to the left, the one almost in front of the small kitchen. 

"No, of course not" he says, tossing the rag next to the sink and moving to sit next to the artist. He can clean up later.

"Thank you," he smiles at him, tenderly, adjusting himself on the seat to properly face the other.

"Do you… want to watch something upstairs?" Akira proposes, quickly going through his mind to see if he can come up with something that Yusuke would enjoy.

"Actually…" he responds with a small voice, his eyes turning down to look at the ground. "There’s something I wished to talk to you about. Could we go back to your room?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it’s a bit short, sorry about it.
> 
> Also, I’m not glossing over Shiho’s appearance. She’ll be joining the game in the next chapter!
> 
>   
> As always, thanks for reading, and remember to [**VOTE**](https://www.poll-maker.com/poll2526846x2B6b47fd-72) for the new items if you haven’t already! Have a nice week <3


	16. Sweet dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, we have another time skip in this chapter! Characters went up from level 8 to level 14! They grow up so quickly…

So, dear adventurers… One more time you make your journey back to Yogen to report you progress on the investigation. You feel proud since, despite the terrible way the last quest ended, you managed to get your hands on new information. 

According to what the talking fungus in Kashira told you, it seems like the modus operandi of the “Masters” is based on communicating with their chosen target through dreams. In case they accept the deal they’re offered, they’re granted enhanced intelligence and new capabilities. After this first step, they keep watch on said target and, in case they’re satisfied with whatever they’re achieving, grant them even more power. In the Grove’s words, the Masters must “be happy, always”.

"That’s right, the mushroom said they’re always watching…" Persephone recalls, grimacing.

"We can only assume they know who we are… we’ve been spoiling all their plans," Robin adds, carefully looking through his notes.

"They also said something about marks," Eran points out, pensive. "Maybe they use some kind of sign to identify those who received their favour?"

"I don’t remember seeing any type of mark on the monsters we took out before though…" says Marga, carefully thinking about it as well. 

"Well, they were all somehow mutated, right? Maybe it’s that?" Félix suggest. Persephone leans in the girl sitting next to her and whispers into her ear what the feline said.

"Did we receive any type of new info from our higher ups?" asks Adriael.

Apart from what you guys brought in, not much. After the encounter on Kashira, it seems like related incidents have dwindled as well. It takes a few months for a new lead to appear. 

Reports say that, in the neighbouring town of Ayama, located a few miles south from Yogen, there has been scourges of nightmares that lead to the citizens affected by them disappear shortly after. Now knowing that the Masters hold power in the realm of dreams, you head straight there in hopes to finally be able to find anything new. Yogen’s government provided you with some bureaucratic aid as well. They’ve contacted Ayama’s authorities, which agreed to give you free entrance into the city and assigned you an escort. They seem somewhat desperate for help in this matter. And so, you have now just crossed the front gate of the big walls surrounding the city. What do you wish to do?

"Well… since we’re here as official representatives of Yogen, I think we should go talk with the authorities first," Adriael says, having the rest of the group agree.

"Let’s get going then."

Very well. It takes you some time to find your path in Ayama, since it’s practically two times the size of Yogen, but after getting lost a few times and asking to the right people, you manage find your way. As soon as the guards see the green and golden badges form Yogen’s insignia on your cloaks, they make you come in and ask you to wait on the conference room for a bit. Almost half an hour passes, but the government's representatives finally come in, accompanied by another individual wearing different robes. They greet you all, swiftly explain the current situation, and introduce you to the person accompanying them. Shiho, if you’d like to tell the table what your character looks like.

"O-oh, ok," she says, somewhat startled and shy. "Um, hi. My name is Hera. I’m a halfling with honey brown hair and twin braids. I’m part of the religious order working with Ayama’s government. I’ll be your guide through the city and hopefully I can provide some help to you all," she says giving Persephone a side-glance, who nods eagerly.

"Wow, so you’re a cleric?" Tauros suddenly chimes in, right next to her.

"Yes."

"That will be so helpful, glad to have you on the team," Adriael smiles at her.

"Can you tell us anything more specific about what’s going on?" asks Pego, though he seems distracted trying to catch Félix’s moving tail.

"Let me see…" she responds, searching for some kind of paper. "This is what you send me, yes?"

Yes, you can tell them as much or as little as you want.

"Ok… Am, Nightmare’s have been haunting people all over Ayama. The victims are mostly children, but they also affect people from all ages and races. The reports say that these terrible dreams pester the victims for several nights and, after a certain number of them, the person disappears. Even if guards and security have been posted on the victims’ residences, next morning their beds always appear vacant. The longest period someone has had the episodes of nightmares lasted for 3 weeks. Data indicates that about 13 people have already been taken by whatever this occurrence is. It seems, though, that even if several people are suffering from the nightmares at the same time, they’re only taken one at a time. Currently, we have reports of 5 people going through the scourge. We believe that the next person to be taken is going to be the youngest daughter of a family of shoemaker gnomes. Also, we’re keeping an eye out on a pair of twin tieflings that started a fortune and dream-reading business a few weeks before these attacks happened. Thanks to the fear spreading among the population, their shop is booming. They might be related to all of this," she finishes reading the paper she’s holding at tucks it away.

"Uf, that’s… a lot to process," sighs Tauros.

"Mmhh… Well, seems like we have things pretty mapped out for us," Robin comments, quickly writing all the Hera said down.

"Let’s get going then, yes?" Marga proposes to the group. 

"By the way…" Pego says. "Do we know if they managed to kill the dragon?"

As far a you know, you haven’t received any news from the people you entrusted the task to. Seems like they haven’t found any dragon living near their homes. 

"Ok…" 

Very well, now that you’re all together, you’re guided out of the building and are left to your own devices. How do you want to proceed?

"Can we talk to someone who’s having the dreams right now? See if it’s similar to what we know about the Master’s dreams. Maybe the one that we think will be taken next," Adriael suggests to the team. 

"That’s a good start," Persephone nods. "Let’s go!!"

"Do we know where it is though? The city is pretty big..."

"I guess I would know… right?" asks Hera.

Yup. That’s the cool thing about having a guide! So, following Hera’s lead, you all make your way to where the gnome family lives. It’s about an hour walk there.

"Wow, so far away!!"

"Could we check out the new items we got on our way there?"

Yeah, sure. Last time, you decided to get the Portable advisor, the Whip of levitation, and, once again, you couldn’t choose between the Purple oak flute, the Puffy jabot, and the Candies of excitement so the dice decide that… you would get the flute! 

"Items," Pego suddenly says, straightening up.

"Is something the matter?" Eran asks, tilting his head a bit in confusion.

"It’s been more than a week," the rouge simply responds, searching inside the small pouch where he keeps his dice. He takes out a small figure of a dog and places it on the table. "Goro-chan, I choose you."

"Yeees our baby!!" Persephone says, clapping happily. "Wait. Is that… an eraser shaped like a dog? Where did you get it?" she asks. Pego nods back at her.

"Daiso.

"You have a dog?" asks Hera, getting excited as well.

"Yeah, she’s awesome!!" Tauros responds, also happy to see the puppy back.

"Not that awesome…" murmurs Félix in a small voice. 

Goro-chan is out and about, running in circles around you.

"My girl," Pego says, small smile on his face. "I want to pick her up."

You do just so.

"Keep an eye on her for me," Pego says as he passes the figurine to Hera. "She’s really smart, you’ll see."

"Really? You don’t mind?" she asks, eyes wide.

"Sure, bet she’ll help a lot."

"Thank you! I’ll take good care of her," she takes the dog-shaped eraser and places it next to her coffee cup. 

"Let’s see the new shit, come on!!" Tauros says, impatient.

Here you go… I think you should distribute some of these among yourselves.

"Yeah, OBVIOUSLY Eran gets the flute…" Persephone says, passing the paper to him.

"But I’m already holding the Sleep box… Since you’re also immune to it, maybe you should keep it? It’s better to have the items as spread as we can," he proposes, changing the new item with the old one.

"Won’t say no to that! Yeey!" she happily says as she shows the paper to Hera. 

"You’re not gonna play it?" says Tauros, expectantly.

"I believe that if I do, I won’t be able to use it again for another 7 days, so I better keep it."

"Bummer…"

"Next are… the whip and the Portable advisor. Who can use whips?"

"Let’s see, they’re considered martial weapons…" Marga says as she looks over her notes.

"Mmh, I don’t have that..." Adriael muses aloud. 

"Neither do I," says Robin, also looking to his character sheet full of cat hairs.

"Oh! OH! I can, I can!!" Tauros says snatching the paper out of Persephone’s hand.

"All yours then."

"Be careful with it, ok? No pra-" Adriael starts to say, though Tauros interrupts her.

"I ATTACK PEGO!!" he says excited, to which the rogue smirks. Adriael just sighs loudly.

Ok, make and attack roll.

[18]

Does it hit?

"Yup," Pego responds.

Roll 1d4 of slashing damage.

"Wait, but I don’t wanna hurt him!" Tauros says, surprised.

"What were you expecting when you hit him then!?" Persephone responds, somewhat pissed.

[4]

"Of course…"

Well, Pego you are now considered grappled. The whip rolls all around your body, restricting your movements.

"Kinky," he says to Tauros, raising his eyebrows a bit.

"Ugh, dude! Don’t make it weird…" the other responds, his cheeks a bit flushed.

Slowly, you start to lift up form the grown, going up and up and up until you reach the maximum length of the whip and are now floating a few feet above the rest of the group for the next 3 minutes. Tauros, you now have a Pego balloon.

"If I drag him with the whip does he come?"

Yup.

"Hell yeah," he does a small fist bump. "I’ll start running in circles, see if he throws up."

"Stop playing we have places to go!!" Félix scolds him.

"’S fine, we can do it while walking!! Come on!!"

Ok, Pego make a constitution save.

[17]

He’s fine.

"I’ll get you next time," the barbarian says to him, somewhat threatening. 

"Can we continue?" Adriael says, exasperated. 

"Yeah yeah, I’ll make sure to hold to the whip so that he doesn’t fly off and to catch him when he falls."

Ok, and finally… you have the Portable advisor.

"It’s a plant, no flowers or anything?"

Nope, just a plant.

"Maybe Marga should hold it? I mean, plants like her right?" Félix says.

"Oh, I’ll be happy to do that! Good morning, it’s nice to meet you," she says to the advisor.

“Hi, nice to meet you. This is all cool and all, but please DO NOT overwork me. I get tired pretty easily and I need me beauty sleep to keep my leaves nice and shiny.”

"What…" Persephone murmus looking around the table.

"Oh… I’ll try not to. Do you have a name?" Marga asks, taken aback by the plant’s introduction.

“I’m a plant, of course not. And don’t you DARE call me by my species’ name, that would be awful. Or do you want me to call you all ‘normie human’ or ‘devil boy’ or something like that”.

"Wow…"

"I hate it."

"Goro tries to bite the plant," Pego says with a serious tone.

"Huh?" Hera responds, surprised by it.

“OUCH!! What are you doing?! Keep your little stinky thing away from me!! Ugh, these are not good working conditions, I’ll talk to your higher ups.”

"Are you going to say something useful or are we done with this?" Adriael says, somewhat annoyed by the advisor’s actitud.

“I mean, do you need me for something or what? I won’t know unless you tell me.”

"Let’s just.. leave it for now," she responds with a sigh.

“Cool, just call me whenever you need me. Since you just wasted my time now, could you at least give me some water or something?”

"...." 

"Here," Tauros says, cup of coffee in hand.

"What?" Persephone murmurs, though she’s laughing.

Are you giving coffee to the plant?

"Don’t!! What it they get mad and don’t want to help us!" Marga says, clutching the paper to her chest.

"Whatever, it’s awful I want it to be pissed!" Tauros says, pouting a bit.

"No," she shakes her head. "I give it some water and druidcraft its pot to make it nice and comfy."

“Wow, thank you so much! I can tell for sure you’re like, the nicest of all of these dummies. Just call me whenever, oki? Byeeeeeeee”. And it goes back to sleep.

"I don’t know how I feel about this…"

"Well, that was… something."

"Let’s keep going..."

Ok, do you have everything ready? Let’s move on then. You get to the small shop where the gnome family has their business and resides. It’s a very simple place, all made out of wood and with beautiful plants adorning the front entrance. Once you come inside, an older gnome greets you from behind the counter and gets up on his stool to try and reach your eye level, though he can only come up to your abdomens. He adjusts his glasses and addresses you “Well, good morning… I suppose you’re the one looking for shoes?” he says, turning to Hera “the rest are too tall to fit on any of the ones we have…”

"Good morning, sir. I’m sorry but we didn’t come for shoes today," Adraiel says. "We come in the name of the central government, in hopes of figuring out what’s going on with the scourge of nightmares. I believe they affect one of your children?"

“Ah, yes… my smallest girl, Sabrina. She’s so scared, the poor thing… and she’s just a child! Can you save her, really?” he says as his eyes start watering a bit.

"We’ll try our best to do just that. Do you think we could talk to her directly?"

“Of course, she’s inside, with her mother. She’s so scared she hasn’t slept in two days, trying to avoid the nightmares… Please, whatever you do, don’t upset her more than she already is.”

"Yes, don’t worry about it. If you’ll excuse us then…"

All right, you get behind the counter and are guided to the inside of the house, until you reach the kitchen. Um…well, besides Hera, you’re all having kind of a hard time being here, since the roof is so low, but specially Adriael and Eran… You may not be able to go inside unless you go down on your knees. 

"Well, this isn’t particularly unusual…" Eran muses. "I’ve never had to go on my knees before, but there are some places that aren’t designed for tall people."

"Yeah, you’re pretty tall in real life too…"

"Should we wait outside then?" Adriael asks him.

"I think that’s a wise decision. Let’s see if we can find anything of interest in the shop or around the house."

Ok, we’ll get to you in just a moment then. The rest of the group. You get into the kitchen, were you find a little girl and his mother drinking some tea. The girl has heavy dark circles under her eyes and is buried in a thick blanket. Her mother’s besides her, rubbing circles on her back. Do you approach them?

"Yes, uh… who should talk to her?"

"Hera, maybe?"

"Oh, ok… I’ll do my best," she says with a nod. "Amm, hi."

The girl looks up from her tea and looks at you, eyes half closed. She only nods.

"I know you may not want to talk about it, but we need your help if we are figure out what’s happening… do you mind if I sit with you?"

She nods again.

"Maybe I could do something to help her before we start," Félix suddenly says.

"What?"

"If I cast Lesser restoration, will her tiredness go away?"

You can try if you want.

"You have that too right Hera? Why don’t you do it?" Marga says to her. 

"Ok, I’ll cast it then. I’ll ask you some questions now, yes? What can you tell me about the nightmares?"

Make a persuasion roll for me.

[11]

“They’re… scary, I can’t… I don’t want to sleep anymore, I don’t want to see it again…” she responds with a small voice, and buries herself deeper into the blankets.

"Can you tell me what happens in them?"

She doesn’t respond.

"Ok," Pego suddenly steps in. "If you don’t want to tell us what happens, maybe you can say what doesn’t happen. Do some people offer you some kind of deal or offer in them?"

Make another persuasion roll.

[26]

"What the fuck dude?" Tauros says, somewhat offended.

"I’m very handsome," he simply responds with a smug expression.

“No… there’s no one in them… just.. lots of dead people, and… and…”

"It’s ok, you don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to," Hera reassures her. "For how long have you been having them?"

“Almost a week now” her mother responds “She’s had four nightmares already. She hasn’t slept in the last two days, just in case… I-if she sleeps again, maybe they’ll take her from us…!!”

"It’s all right, we’ll try to do something about it," the halfling nods.

"Yes, I think this will be enough… we’re sure these dreams are not related to the Masters, but maybe whatever is causing them is," Robin concludes. 

"Let’s go check out the other place then, see if we can draw some connections."

Ok, while you were talking… do you two want to do anything in particular?

"Check out the shop? Maybe see if we can find any sort of clue or trace," Adriael says as she looks at Eran.

"And outside too," he adds.

Ok, make investigation rolls then. Eran, you first.

[16]

Adriael?

[12]

Nothing catches your attention.

"Oh my… there really isn’t anything, or it’s very well hidden."

Ok, so you move on to the twin’s establishment, yes? It takes about another hour to get there, since it’s located around the outskirts of town. When you get there, you find yourselves in front of a big tent made out of deep blue clothes that are held up. You can make out three rooms form the outside. A sign next to it is advertising their services, mainly fortune and dream-reading. Looks like they also have a selection of remedies and potions to help with minor illnesses. Are you all going in?

"Maybe just a few of us, yes? We’re way too many…"

"Ok, who’s good at talking to people… Robin, Eran…?"

"Oh yeah, and Robin’s a tiefling too! Maybe you can like be buddies or something," Tauros says.

"Just because we’re of the same race…?"

"Anyway… let’s approach."

Very well, you get closer to the clothed tent, slide one of the curtains open and enter. Inside, you see a white skin tiefling sitting behind a high table, in which a deck of cards and a crystal ball are placed. On either side, there are curtains separating the different areas, but one of them is closed with a tight knot. “Oh, customers?” you are greeted by the tiefling with a small smile.

"Good day. May we bother you for a moment?" Eran says in a gentle tone.

“Of course. Tell me dear, what kind of services are you looking for? What is it that afflicts you?”

"Mmh… I think approaching the topic directly might not allow us to gather the information we want, so maybe we should play along," Eran muses, turning to Robin. "What do you think about it?"

"I think it’s a great idea, we always have time to question her directly afterwards."

"Very well, I turn to her once more," Eran says. "You see, I’m quite concerned about these dreams…"

“Oh my, another victim?” the tiefling says, urging you to take a sit. “Tell me, what appears on yours?”

"..." he thinks for a bit. "There’s.. a dragon. A large black dragon, but it’s body is somewhat mutated, like… the wings and legs are different. It talks to me. It asks me if I wish to join forces with him," he proceeds with a serious expression.

“Oh, quite different form the ones I’ve heard so far…”

"Could I make an insight check? See if she reacted to what he said," Robin says.

"Yes, I would like to make one too," the bard adds.

Very well, take your rolls. Robin, if you may. Then you Eran.

[18]

[7]

Robin, you don’t see her making any particularly suspicious reaction. She seems genuinely concerned.

"And… how is it different to the other ones? What could it mean?" Eran continuous with his questions.

“Well, the dragon’s clearly symbolizing a big fear of yours… and the fact that it wants to make some kind of deal with you might mean that, deep inside, you wish to confront it and get over it. Think carefully about what I said, see if you can make a connection with what’s happening in your daily live. If the dreams keep bothering you, I can offer you some of our remedies that will surely help…”

"I see, thank you. Could you tell me what happens in other people’s dreams?"

“Sorry dear. That’s customer confidentiality…”

"Please, just a basic idea is fine. I think it would help me ease my mind if these are not connected to the ones from the incidents."

Mmhh… make a persuasion check.

[28]

"Nice!"

“Well, they’re all very different, tailored to scare the dream’s host. You can imagine, things that typically scare people… the only thing truly in common is that, before they are taken, they dream about things disappearing… it hasn’t happened to you, has it?”

"No," he shakes his head.

“Thank goodness… Still you should take some of the remedy I talked to you about. It will surely help chase off these terrible dreams “

"Say, how many people with nightmares have come?" Robin asks. 

“Oh, plenty. Almost anyone who dreams comes to ask about it. Panic is surging through the people…”

"And I’ve heard you have a twin sibling, correct? Where are they?"

She narrows her eyes a little bit, face getting somewhat annoyed. “She’s out. Are you in need of anything else?”

"Ask her to do something else, see if I can check out the place meanwhile," the warlock asks Eran.

"Very well. Could you please read my fortune as well? Tell me what these dreams might bring?"

“The real expert is my sister, but I will do my very best to assist you… Then now, please place your hands on the table…”

"I want to try and peruse the shop, see if I find something," Robin says

Roll investigation.

[7]

I mean, there’s weird shit all over, probably to perform their rituals and stuff…

"And what about the other two rooms, I can’t see anything?"

Unfortunately, no…

"Wait," Pego then says, turning to Hera. "Let Goro help. Why don’t you send her in?"

"In?" she asks, somewhat confused. 

"Yes, see if she can sneak into the other rooms and find something."

I’ll allow it.

"Oh, ok," Hera nods. "Can you please go check inside? Be careful though!"

She barks in agreement and trots her fluffy but into the shop. Please, roll stealth for her.

[21]

"What?!"

"Why is it so high!!"

"She’s my puppy," Pego says with a smudged face and a series of small nods. 

Yeah, the tiefling is directed with Eran and her passive perception is not enough to see her. So, to which room does she go?

"Mmh… the one with the closed curtain perhaps?" Hera asks the group.

Very well, she goes inside… only a little bit of light comes in from one of the openings in the cloth, being a makeshift window. It’s dimly lit, so she can’t see very well. The room looks like somewhat of a storage, but there are also documents and the like placed on the top of the tables and some shelves.

"Well… let’s see if she finds anything suspicious or smells something weird."

Ok, I’ll allow a perception check. Since she’s smelling as well, you can make it with advantage.

"Come on Goro-chan!"

[19]

Very nice!! Tugged behind a table, inside a leather bag, she smells two very strong sense that kind of make her nose itch a little bit. She thinks this will be good enough so she starts heading back, just as the tiefling is finishing reading Eran’s fortune. Roll another stealth check for me.

[8]

"Ufff…"

"Wait a moment, please," Eran suddenly says. "I do see her, right?"

Yup, from the corner of your eye you see little Goro, holding a rather big bag, peaking out form the curtain on the left.

"Please, I beg of you! You must tell me, if.. if...!!" he turns to Robin in hopes he can help him come out with something.

"If they’ll…Aah if they’ll accept our adoption papers?" he follows up, confused, just as lost as the bard.

What?

"Yes!! We’ve… we’ve tried for so long, and finally they accepted our petition, but they might still reject it... and now, with my... partner? Having the nightmares, we’re worried everything will be for nothing…" Robin continues, trying his best to sound believable. 

"Yes, we’ve waited for so long to be parents…" Eran nods next to him, trying to make a sad expression. 

Ok… Make a deception check for me, see if you can distract her enough.

[28]

Nice! You manage to catch her attention and Goro can sneak out the tent without her noticing. “Don’t worry dears, just by looking at you I can tell you are wonderful people. You will be blessed with a wondrous child that will bring light to your lives. Worry not about the dreams, with the remedy I gave you, they should leave soon enough. If not, please feel free to stop by anytime.” Do you actually want to take whatever it is she’s offering?

"Mmh… why not, it might be some kind of clue," Eran nods.

Very well. Once you pay the gold for the services, you all reconvene outside. 

"Well done Goro, you’re so smart!" Hera compliments the puppy with a big smile.

She barks happily and licks your cheek a little bit.

"She’s adorable."

"Ok, let’s catch up."

"Let’s use the time we have and talk about it on our way back to the gnome’s house."

"Of course, we tell the rest of the group what we learned, correct?" the bard asks turning to face Robin.

"Yes."

"What’s inside the bag Goro got?"

You open it and you find a letter and a smaller pouch. When you open the pouch, is filled with some kind of fine brown powder.

"Do any of us recognize what it is?" asks Adriael.

Don’t know, roll medicine.

"Félix, do you mind?"

"Leave it to me!"

[9]

It comes from some kind of plant and it’s been heavily processed, but you can’t really tell.

"I wonder… is it similar to what she sold to Eran?" asks Robin.

It is also brown, but of a much lighter colour.

"Smell, taste, are they the same?" he continues.

You wanna try some of it?

"Mmh… not if you put it that way…" the tiefling backs off into his seat. 

"Just smell then?" Félix proposes. 

Mmh… make an intelligence check.

[8]

It really doesn’t smell much of anything.

"Ok.. we should check it out later if we have more time."

"There was a letter too, right? What does it say?"

Let me see… do any of you know Infernal? 

"I do," says Robin.

"Me too!" Félix adds.

Ok. This letter is written with very fine calligraphy, and has an official look to it. To summarize it, it’s a formal acknowledgment between the Dernagulleta siblings (who you assume are the twin tieflings) and an unnamed provider. Looks like the material exchanged is the container of that pouch you found. It seems to be some kind of medication to induce a deep, unconscious sleep. 

"What do we make out of the stall then?" asks Persephone.

"Well, looks like they’re scamming people... but I don’t know if they’re really involved or just taking profit of the situation," Adriael says, pensive. 

"If this medication is supposed to put you in such a state of unconsciousness to avoid dreams, then I don’t think they’re behind it," Eran adds, earning some nods from some of his teammates.

"Yo plant, what do you think? Hey, hey!!" Tauros suddenly says.

The plant slowly wakes up and looks at you. “Wha, what?” 

"This thing," he waves his hand, as if he’s holding the letter.

“Wow, totally evil. But I mean, they’re like pretty normie, right? If they need this medicine, I don’t think they would be strong enough to actually cause nightmares to so many people, even if they’re two. Prolly just taking advantage of the situation.”

"Yes, I think so too," Adriael and Robin nod. 

"Ok, so we rule them out then… Let’s see if we can discover something else about Sabrina’s dreams."

You get back to the house. Sabrina’s parents see you and let you come in right away. When you get back into the kitchen, you find Sabrina sitting on a cushioned chair, still wrapped in blankets, and almost falling asleep. When her parents see her, they quickly go the her yelling. “Don’t fall asleep, don’t fall asleep!!”

"Poor girl… I feel bad for bothering her again."

"We won’t make anything clear unless we do…"

"Sabrina, I know you don’t want to talk about it, but you must tell us… In the last dream you had, did things disappear?" asks Hera, taking in a gentle voice.

Roll persuasion again.

[10]

She doesn’t respond.

"GODDAMMIT KID!! WE’RE TRYING TO FUCKING HELP YOU, JUST ANSWER FOR FUCKS SAKE!!!" Tauros suddenly yells, frustrated.

"Ryuji!!" Persephone growls at him.

"So insensitive…" murmurs Eran.

… Make an intimidating roll for me.

[18]

Her eyes widen and she starts crying, her small body shivering as she nods sharply and curls further into herself. Welp, she won’t fall asleep for a while now…

"See?" Tauros says, crossing his arms. "Sometimes you just have to go with it."

"You brute…" Persephone still eyes him angrily.

"So next time she sleeps, she’ll get taken huh," Pego says, thinking.

"Maybe we should.. make an ambush?" Hera proposes, looking back at Persephone.

"But the officers said even if they guarded the houses, people were taken anyway," Adriael points out.

"We could place some of us with her, just in case, and the rest stand guard outside. It seems like whoever’s doing this is really good at hiding. We won’t find them unless we bring them out," Pego counters.

"Fair enough…"

"Shouldn’t we talk it out with the parents? See if they agree?"

When you propose it to them, they don’t seem on part with it… I mean, you’re using her daughter as bait…

"Please, trust us," Pego says. "Everything will be fine, we’re all here for her. And even if she’s taken, we’ll chase after her."

…. Make another persuasion roll with disadvantage.

[27]

Though a bit reluctant, they agree… but they say that they’ll stay up as well.

"You may, but please, stay safe. We don’t know what we’ll be facing."

Do you want to do it tonight? If so, you still have plenty of time to prepare for it.

"We should, right? We’re full on spells and everything," says Persephone, looking at the group.

"Yes, the sooner the better, just in case the target will change," everyone seems to agree. 

"How should we distribute ourselves then?"

"In case we need to run… I think the fastest people should stay outside," proposes Marga.

"I think the fastest are… Adriael and Tauros."

"Uff, but they’re our physical hitters… at least one of them should be inside with Sabrina, just in case," Félix points out. 

"Ok, so since Adriael is faster, she stays outside and Tauros inside… what about the rest?"

"People with good perception should be out, to scout," says Robin.

"Let’s see… Besides Tauros, the other one is Marga… Eran as well.. Oh, each team should definitely have a healer in them!"

"Yes, I agree."

"I will stay inside then," says Félix.

"Ok, so left we have… Persephone, Robin and Pego?"

"Pego should go out, hide somewhere and scout."

"Fine by me," he says.

"Now… to give the inside team more support, the rest could stay?"

"Yes, I think that’s good enough."

Ok, so, Inside team: Tauros, Félix, Persephone, and Robin. Outside team: Hera, Adriael, Marga, Eran and Pego. Is that right?

"Yup!"

Very well. Anything else?

"Mmh… ok, so what should we ACTUALLY do?"

"I guess just… stalk the house? See if anything comes, and if it does… just catch it I guess?"

"We could position ourselves around the house, hidden, and just rush them when they get closer."

"Sounds good."

"Do we have anything that might help us with that?"

"I believe I do," Eran interrupts. "In case the perpetrator is using some kind of magical ability to mask they presence, I have a spell that could help with that."

"Cool!!"

"But I don’t know who should get it…"

"Well, someone with good perception would be better, yes? Since it will be in the middle of the night…"

"Marga, then?"

"Very good."

"So… spread in a circle, hide, and wait?"

"Yes. And the people inside stay vigilant."

Ok… everything ready? Want to move on or…?

"Wait , send someone to inform about what we’re going to do, in case we need backup," says Félix. 

All right, the ones who are outside, I need you to tell me how you want to be positioned.

"Rooftops?

"Mmh… I don’t know… I’m not really stealthy…" Marga murmurs. 

"Nor am I…" adds Hera.

"So if Marga can’t be on the lookout, maybe we should give Eran’s spell to someone else?" suggests Adriael. 

"Should I cast it on myself then…? I could silently[ Message](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/message) the others in case I see something and we still need to stay hidden."

"Yeah, that sounds cool!!"

"Oh, I think if I cast invisibility on someone that could help too," Marga adds.

"Good thinking. So…"

"I don’t think I need it," says Pego.

"How many people can you do, Marga?"

"I could do everyone that’s on the rooftop."

"Maybe do it to yourself and Hera, so you can go to the rooftop. And the last one… Eran? or Adriael?"

"Her? In case she has to sneak up?"

"Ok, let’s do that then."

So, everyone’s invisible but Eran and Pego, and Eran… what do you cast on yourself? 

[" True seeing ](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/true-seeing)."

Ok, both of those spells last only for 1 hour. When do you want to cast them?

"When Sabrina falls asleep, yes? Whoever is coming for her won’t take her until she dreams, if we understood it correctly."

So, you want to wait until the sun is down, make Sabrina sleep, and then be on 'go mode'.

"Yes."

Ok, Before we start, Goro is gone.

"Already?"

"But I didn’t pet her enough..."

"We need to find a way so that she’s always with us."

A quest for another day. Let’s move on. In which rooftops do you want to be?

"The ones closest to the house? And maybe one of us in the house’s?"

"Pego should be in the house’s rooftop, to hide better."

Got it, so in a circle around the house… People inside, doing anything in particular?

"Making sure Sabrina is feeling ok, I think… and keeping an eye on every door and window," Persephone says.

Very well. Night comes in and your teammates inside report to you that Sabrina has started breathing peacefully, finally letting her tired body rest after 2 days. Everyone please make stealth checks for me. The ones that are invisible have advantage.

Adriael: [28]

Eran: [1]

Pego: [30]

Hera [22]

Marga: [18]

"Oh god…"

Ok, let me check… [12]. Eran, can you make a wisdom saving throw? With advantage.

[9]

Ok, come here.

"Here…?"

Yes, come here!!

"Very well," he gets up from his seat and walks to Futaba, who gestures for him to lower down. She quickly whispers something to his ear and makes him sit down once more. 

Ok, you can all take your perception rolls now. Everyone with disadvantage besides Eran, because of the True Seeing. 

Adriael: [15]

Eran: [7]

Pego: [15]

"One of them was a natural 20..."

"Again?" Adriael says, surprised.

"What did you do to your dice? Enchant them?" Félix adds, suspicious of the cunning rogue. 

Hera [11]

Marga: [1]

"Did the person with the best perception just rolled a freaking 1…?"

"This is going, great."

Ok, let me roll again… [14]. Let’s see… Félix, Tauros. As you are trained on the exists of the room, waiting for any signal, out of the corner of your eye you see the window move just the tiniest bit.

"What’s that?" Tauros says, straightening up.

"Something’s here!!" Félix yells at the same time.

Just as you say that, from Sabrina’s bed starts to spread a thick, black smoke that envelops all of the room, making all of you go blind. 

"What?!"

"It’s here!! Quick!!!"

You hear a loud sound as the windows is thrown open and the bed creaks. You also hear a muffled scream from Sabrina before a quick wind comes out of the ball of darkness and vanishes once again into the night.

"It’s getting away!! Quick!!"

"Whatever it is, we can’t see it!!"

[" Dispel magic,"](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/dispel-magic) Robin says in a calm tone of voice. 

Mmh… where are you casting it?

"Where I saw the wind go by, on the window."

Make an… intelligence check for me. 

[19]

Very nice, Dispel is a 3rd level correct… So, as you take your hands forward and cast the spell, you see a giant figure suddenly appear. Its body is huge, filled with muscles, its skin red and with sharp thorns protruding from every pore. Its eyes are filled with murderous intent. The oni notices that you dispelled his invisibility, and is now going on a full run with Sabrina tucked underneath his arm, unconscious. Everyone, roll initiative!!

_[Skill challenge: Oni hunting. The players can choose 1 of 3 options: attack, free action or aid a companion. Once the option is selected, the player will roll a d10 to see to which degree said action is successful: 1-5 fail, 6-8 mild success, 9-10 great success._

_The oni will escape in three rounds. Chase it down!]_

Eran: [22]

Robin: [21]

Tauros: [19]

Pego: [17]

Hera: [17]

Marga: [14]

Félix: [11]

Adriael: [10]

Persephone: [6]

Oni: [4]

Eran, you go first! Make… a perception check for me please.

[10]

Ok, you don’t see what’s going over there, so… what do you want to do?

"I didn’t even hear them, correct?"

Nope.

"Well, guess I would stay put then..."

Robin, your go.

"Well, first of all… If I say anything does it count as an action?"

If it’s not very long, no.

"Then I’ll shout 'It’s here, by the window' as loud as I can and try to take Sabrina from the oni’s grasp."

Make your roll, I won’t accept it unless you get a great success though.

[4]

You’re a weak little tiefling, you can’t compete with giantkin…

"Is the condescendence necessary…?" he says, one eyebrow slightly raised. 

Tauros, you’re up!

"Hell yeah baby, here we go!!!" he says, placing one foot on his chair and wiggling a piece of paper in the air. "It’s whipping time!!!"

"Oh my god the whip!!" Persephone gasps, eyes wide.

"Good call!" Félix adds with his tail swinging widely. 

You want to use the whip on him?

"You bet!"

Make your roll!

[8]

You manage to wrap it around him, but his body is SO massive it’s not properly taut and you can’t make him levitate, but you have him there for now! Pego, you’re up.

"Can I get there and tie the whip?"

Mmh….

"I had that in me before, I know how it works," he says, smirk appearing on his lips.

"Dude, phrasing…"

Ok, you’re on the house’s roof so you would get there pretty easily… I’ll only allow it if you get a great success. 

[9]

"HELL YEAH!!!" Tauros yells happily as he leans on the table to high-five Pego with a loud smack.

Well done!! You have the oni successfully trapped for the next three minutes, levitating above all of you. Combat is suspended for now. Wow, that was quick...

"We need to secure him somehow," Adriael says turning to the group. "We should all gather around and figure something out."

Some of you are still invisible.

"Oh, right!" Marga says. "I’ll drop it and take Sabrina out, too."

She’s safely returned to her parents, who go running to get some help when they see the trapped oni. Are you all around him now?

"I believe so…?"

Eran?

"Yes, I’m there as well."

When the oni sees you approach, he turns to you. “Hey, friend… come on, you know you shouldn't be doing this to me. Let me out?” he asks you with a rough and deep voice. 

"Friend…?" Félix repeats, confused.

I want you to think of a way to get him out.

"What?!" Tauros yelps, surprised.

"Why would he do that?" adds Persephone, looking at the bard.

"Hey, Eran!!" Félix calls to him too, turning to be face to face with him. 

"Mmhh… well… I don’t have the Sleep box anymore, but I do have some spells…"

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Marga joins the group on their panic.

"I take a step forward and…"

"Eran," Pego says with a firm voice, grabbing one of his hands. "Eran, what are you doing?"

"Ah…" the bard, who jumped a bit at the sudden contact, looks between his companion and Futaba, confused. "What command should I follow? I’m not against my teammates…"

Mmhh… Let’s have contested persuasion rolls.

"I should have advantage on that," Pego says, very serious.

And so should the oni, because Eran’s charmed by him… let’s just make them straight rolls. You first.

[31]

That’s… not fair!! Your persuasion is so high…!! [5] This is stupid… 

"What did you get?"

"An 18."

I rolled a freaking 2…. Ugh, Eran, you feel compelled to listen to him.

"Don’t do anything, you hear me?" Pego says, turning to Eran again. "Just look at me, don’t listen to him," he takes both his hands, holding them tightly. "It’s ok, you don’t have to do anything."

"A-akira…" he responds, blushing a bit from having such a display in front of everyone. "This is a bit much…"

"Do we have anything to get rid of this charm?" he asks the rest of the table, not listening to him.

"I don’t think we have anything now… We’ll have to wait?"

"Pego, take him away from here, in case he’ll try to do something again," Adriael commands.

"I’m taking Eran away," Pego says.

Ok… you get away from the scene. By the way, you only have one more minute on the whip.

"WHAT?!!?"

"What should we do?!"

"I don’t know… hold him down?"

"But he’s like super strong..."

"Don’t we have anything to stop him from moving…?"

"The flute…" Robin says, thinking. "The flute! Eran’s flute should do it. Pego, ask him to use it against him."

"I don’t think I can do anything harmful to him tough," Eran says aloud.

"Give me your flute, please," Pego ask him.

".... I don’t think I can knowing that you’ll use it against the oni," the bard responds, looking at Futaba.

You wouldn’t.

"..." Pego sighs. "Why do you make me do this? I’ll steal it."

Stealthy?

"Yeah."

Make a sleight of hand check. Are you doing anything to distract him?

"..." he thinks for a second. "I’ll grab his butt."

"W-what?!" Eran exclaims, getting redder than before. Pego just smirks with an eyebrow raised, and makes their knees bump together underneath the table. The bard just blushes even harder. 

Nice. You get advantage. 

[30]

"Natural 20," his smirk only widens.

"Perfect timing!"

You get the flute! What are you doing, time is running out!! 

"Catch!" the rouge says, doing a motion as if he’s throwing it.

"Who has great performance?"

"I do!" Persephone says. "Gimme gimme!! I’ll play it."

Make a performance check please.

[23]

You succeeded! And the spell doesn’t have a saving throw… The oni starts dancing!! For another minute.

"ONLY A MINUTE!?"

"We need to do something!!"

"Why don’t we…polymorph him?" proposes Hera.

"....That could work," says Adriael in a low murmur, ashamed she hadn’t thought about it. 

"Let’s try that, quick!"

"I have the spell!" Marga exclaims. "Let me try. Wisdom save of DC 17."

[22] He resists it…

"Ugh, who else has the spell?!"

"Eran does…"

"GODDAMMIT DUDE COME BACK TO US!!"

The spell is about to fade…!!

"Wait," Robin calls for everyone’s attention. "What about the Pocket spa? If we close it tightly from the outside, he shouldn’t be able to escape."

"Good thinking, let’s do it!!"

I give you a spa and you trap monsters inside of it…? Well, you manage to successfully secure the oni so that it doesn’t escape. I assume you’ll take it to the government's building, yes? Very well, on your way there you stumble upon some guards that were sent as reinforcement shortly after the oni appeared. You accompany them back and present the authorities with your spa, which they take away to properly secure the oni.

"Give it back when you’re done…!!"

Yes yes, don’t worry about it. For now, they have the oni under custody and they will try to coax some information out of him, see if they figure out where the other kidnapped victims are and how he managed to create those dreams.

"We should be present for this interrogation. Let’s wait until then," proposes Pego.

"Yes, good idea."

All right, you all turn in for the night and wait for two more days until the investigation begins. Word of your success has been send to Yogen and they are waiting your return, whenever you’re ready. And so, you all come inside the highly secured cell where the oni is being held, chained down and magically restrained. You may ask whatever you wish.

"Before we begin," Félix says. "I want to cast[ Zone of truth](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/zone-of-truth)."

Oh, nice call!! Let’s see, he needs to make a charisma save… your DC is 18… [20] He succeeds!

"Mmh… well, we’ll try to make it work anyways. Who should talk? Robi-?"

"I will," Adriael says, interrupting her companion. "We know who gave you this power. The Masters, right? That’s why your skin is like this," she starts with a stern tone. "What did they offer you? What do they want you to do?"

“Huhuhuhu….” he simply laughs without saying anything.

"What are the 'marks'? Are they the mutations?"

“Ah… a wild goose chase...”

"It’s just a matter of time before we find them, so don’t act all smart. How did you create the nightmares?"

“If you’re so capable you’ll find them on your own, then it doesn’t matter if I talk or not.”

"Ah…" Pego sighs lightly. "I step forward," he says rubbing his neck. "Come on, we work with them too, just lend us a hand, will you? And I’ll activate the Liar’s Choker."

Ok, make your charisma check. DC 16.

[5]

“Do you like playing heroes so much? Huhuhuhu…”

"We’re not going to get anything out of him…" Marga sighs, frustrated.

"Let the people here handle the investigation for now, and ask them to inform us of anything they find," Robin suggests.

"Yes, that’s a good idea."

Do you leave then?

"Yup."

"Let’s make our way back to Yogen."

Ok, you talk it through with Ayama’s authorities, gather your things and head to the city’s walls. Hera are you going with them?

"I suppose I’ll go to say goodbye," she says.

"Oh right, you’re staying here…." Tauros murmurs, now somewhat sad.

"Thank you for your help! It was very nice meeting you," Persephone tells her with a smile.

"Yes, we’ll keep in contact," the halfling nods back, smiling as well. 

"Help us again if you can in the future!" Marga says.

"Of course, it would be my pleasure! Safe travels everyone!"

Well done, adventurers. You made a new friend and manage to take alive one of the Master’s accomplices. Now, will you have enough puzzle pieces to finally start seeing the bigger picture…?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the most fun I’ve had writing a chapter. Everything went so… well and bad at the same time? Amazing.   
> Also, finally, here you have the character sheets!! Just a reminder, they are a really big mess. Every domain, pact, school, circle, spells, and other details are not exactly what they are in the fic, because if I wanted to have that content I had to pay, so…  
> I tried to correct them but it was too much work so I figured I would post them now with Hera’s appearance. Here you go!
> 
>   * [Pego](https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/14540016/Ua997p)
>   * [Félix](https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/14587422/HQUAyF) (if I wanted to select the tabaxi race I had to pay too, so I choose human instead)
>   * [Tauros](https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/14586959/JXYG0a)
>   * [Persephone](https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/14587086/bq5Eo8)
>   * [Hera](https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/17437024/yG4WDL)
>   * [Eran](https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/14619517/EVjaIf)
>   * [Adriael](https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/14587205/a8JmaE)
>   * [Margarita](https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/14619389/T043sl)
>   * [Robin](https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/14587319/51GCFU)
>   * [Goro-chan](https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Dog_\(5e_Creature\))
> 

> 
> In case you want Goro-chan’s too, there you have it. Feel free to use them for your own games and modify them as you please if you want to!  
> Quick note though, when I level up the characters, these sheets change automatically. When this is posted they should be at level 14, but in the future it might be different.   
> This quest was based on the adventure “The stuff of nightmares” from the Tal’dorei Campaign Setting book. (page 61)  
> Since this chapter was a oneshot, we have another shopping trip! Please, check out the next chapter and cast your votes! <3  
> 
> 
> PS: Sleight of hand check of 30 to grope your man’s ass, Pego’s my new hero.


	17. Treasure vault

Before you leave, though, and as a thanks for helping them figure out exactly what was going on, Ayama’s government decides to reward your efforts allowing you to enter their vaults and freely choose from the items offered to you. As such, you take a step inside the designated room full of riches and wonders, and are presenter with the following:

  * Small leather pouch: Small rectangular leather pouch. The guide says it contains a deck with many things.
  * Ring of three wishes: While wearing this ring, you can use an action to expend 1 of its 3 charges to cast the [Wish](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/wish) spell. The ring becomes non-magical when you use the last charge.
  * Bag of devouring: This bag is a feeding orifice for a gigantic extradimensional creature. Animal or vegetable matter placed wholly in the bag is devoured and lost forever. When part of a living creature is placed inside, as happens when someone reaches inside it, there is a 50% chance they'll be pulled inside the bag. A creature inside the bag can use its action to try and escape with a strength check of DC 15. Another creature can reach into the back and pull the other out, doing so with a successful strength check of DC 20 (provided it isn’t pulled inside the bag first). Any creature that starts its turn inside the bag is devoured, its body destroyed.
  * Floating harp: Beautiful silver harp that floats and plays by itself. When spoken its command word, it can cast [Charm person](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/charm-person) or [Charm monster ](https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Charm%20Person#content)(wisdom DC 15) once per day.
  * Circlet of Telekinesis: Decorative platinum circlet that allows the wearer to cast [Telekinesis](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/telekinesis) at will.
  * Fish Key: Key shaped like a fish's skeleton. It can open anything that is considered to be “closed”.
  * Monkey gloves: Hairy pair of gloves that allow you to climb any type of vertical surface. They also give advantage on athletic checks.
  * Naming tags: White paper naming tags. When stuck to something, they make it take the shape of whatever is written on the tag for 3 minutes. 3 uses.
  * Bubble wand: Small wand that creates bubbles. The bubbles can trap up to a medium creature inside of them for 10 minutes. No magic can go either in or out of the bubble. 2 uses per day.



As always, you’re allowed to take only 3 of them. Think about your future battles, and what could possibly be of aid….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last poll we’ll have! I hope you take the time to [**VOTE**](https://linkto.run/p/AGWCLD31) and decide which are the last items our adventurers will have!  
> I’m putting a lot of trust in you for this one guys, choose wisely.  
> Thank you so very much for reading, and have a lovely week! <3


	18. Saturday routine

Another slow afternoon in Leblanc. Not a single customer. 

Sojiro lets out a small sigh and sits down on one of the stools in front of the counter. He gets out the day’s newspaper that he hasn’t finish reading yet and ponders if he should prepare a cup of coffee for himself. As he’s doing that, he looks at the newspaper’s date and realizes it’s Saturday.

Oh. He didn’t notice. That means the kids are coming today. 

Just as Sojiro’s thinking that, the doorbell jingles. He turns around to look and sees a tall teenager with blue hair patiently waiting on the entrance. Lately, he’s been showing up way earlier than any of the others.

"Good afternoon, Boss," he greets with a polite bow.

"Hey kid," Sojiro greets back.

A second later, some loud, quick steps come stomping down the stairs and the boy staying on his attic appears at the bottom of them in no time. He smiles wide when he sees the other boy.

"Yusuke," he lets out in a small voice. 

"Hello," he responds with a short laugh, moving to seat on one of the counter stools.

Sojiro sighs lightly. Well, since they’re here, guess he’ll go get some more food… He tells them to watch the store and heads out for some cigarettes and groceries.

The air is a bit chilly today. Sojiro adjust his jacket and quickly runs a list on his head of what he should buy. He doesn’t have enough curry to feed all of them after they finish, so he should cook another batch, just in case. Let’s see… Yes, the tall kid liked these potato snacks. And he bets the cat will want dried fish… Ah, and these candies are that blonde girl’s favourites. Now that he thinks about it, he’s almost out of chocolate milk too. Better get some for the loud one… and of course, Futaba’s favourite cup yakisoba. What else…

As he’s perusing the shop aisles, he starts thinking about when this weekly tradition started. It’s been several months now since they decided to invade his café every Saturday afternoon and scream for about 5 hours. They say they’re playing, but what kind of game makes people that rowdy…?

Some customers have complained about the noise, but he doesn’t really care. Not when he sees his daughter excitedly explaining to him their adventures during dinner, or asking him for advice on how to proceed. Or when he hears the reserved boy staying on his café openly laughing in company of his friends. He knows that every single member of the group is dealing with some kind of difficulty (it’s easy to overhear them, with how open the attic is), so who is he to rob these kids of a good time? It doesn’t hurt anybody. And he’s not going to lie, being surrounded with such a good atmosphere lifts his mood up as well. 

Maybe he could get something special today, give them a little surprise. He notices that they have one of those strawberry and cream cakes on sale, due to close expiration date. It’s been a while since he himself had any sort of dessert like that. And it works well with coffee, too.

Having selected everything he wanted, he goes to pay and makes his way back. 

When he gets there, he’s still distracted thinking about the joyful teenagers and is about to open Leblanc’s door without thinking about it. Thankfully, when he curls his hand on the doorknob, he looks in front of him and through the door’s glass he sees Akira with his forearms resting on the counter, leaning forward. Then Yusuke, who’s sitting on the stool, leans forward as well, getting closer and closer to him until their lips meet in a soft kiss. 

Sojiro’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline and he quickly turns around, getting away from the door. Well, that was… Mmh, was it really that unexpected? He supposes it’s not. He lets out another sigh and decides to light a cigarette, waiting outside and out of view of the two boys. Might as well give them some time, he doesn’t want to walk on them in the middle of… whatever.

Unfortunately though, turning the corner of the street comes the rest of their group of friends. Oh, no. What is he going to tell them? What if they walk in without noticing?

The group approaches him, all loud voices and happy tones.

"Hey Boss!!" Ryuji says, grinning.

"Sorry to bother you again!!" Ann greets him as well, moving one of her big pigtails out of her shoulder.

"Oh, did you go buy groceries? Do you want some help with the bags?" asks Haru with her usual, pleasant smile.

"A-ah… yes," Sojiro responds, quickly trying to think of some kind of excuse to make them wait. "Ammm…"

"Oh? Yusuke’s here already!!" says Ryuji, going to open the door.

Sojiro tries to stop him, but doesn’t make it in time. When they get inside, Akira is standing next to Yusuke, who’s still on the stool, with his arm lazily resting across the taller boy’s shoulders as he absentmindedly twist a strand of blue hair between his fingers.

"Sup!!" Ryuji says as he goes to sit on the stool next to Yusuke.

"Hello everyone," greets the artist, addressing everyone. 

"Come on, come on! Today’s gonna be good!! Where’s Futaba?" asks Ann as she also approaches them. 

"She’ll be here in a minute," responds Akira.

"And Goro?"

"Ah, we saw him on his bike from the train! He should get here soon enough," replies Haru as she’s going to pet Morgana, who just came from upstairs.

"Let’s get everything ready then, yes?"

As they start talking to each other, Sojiro gets back behind the counter and grabs some fresh coffee beans to start grinding them. Their laughs are contagious, and he can’t help but smile. Once the last of them comes to the café (the famous detective is always the last to arrive. Busy with work, Sojiro assumes), he coughs a little to get everyone’s attention.

"Well, when I was at the supermarket I saw they had this…." he says as he takes the cake out of the plastic bag.

A loud, unison gasp accompanied with some cheers fills the air and the entire group gathers around the delicious looking cake.

"Cake?!?!?!" Ann says, eyes almost glowing.

"Oh, it looks so tasty!" comments Haru, earning an agreeing nod from Makoto.

"It’s been such a long time since I had any type of cake," Yusuke comments with a small smile.

"Wow Sojiro, trying to look cool with the youngsters?" Futaba asks his father as she snickers.

"Don’t want it? We can feed your portion to the cat then," he responds with a scoff.

"I didn’t say that!!" she refutes with a small pout.

"Thank you so much, Boss," Makoto thanks him as well, a small smile on his lips. 

"Let’s eat it once you’re done," he proposes to the group. 

"Yes!"

"Come on, let’s get going then."

"See you later!!"

One by one, they get upstairs and leave Sojiro alone in the café once more. He shakes his head lightly, lopsided smile on his face, and goes to sit back down on the stool to resume his reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hewwo. I just wanted to let you know that the following chapters might take a bit longer to be publish, sorry in advance! Thank you for your patience and your comprehension <3  
> The poll to [**VOTE**](https://www.poll-maker.com/poll2551768xc73E4Bc5-73) for the last items will be open for a bit longer too, since I don’t know when the next chapter will be up. Remember to cast your votes if you haven’t already!  
> As always, thank you for reading, and have a lovely week!
> 
> PS: I think I read somewhere that Akechi goes literally everywhere on his bike, but I don’t know if it’s true or not… Anyways, I love the idea of posh detective boy going around on his red bike, so it’s canon in this universe. Also, let Ryuji drink chocolate milk. He’s a sweet boy, so he drinks sweet things.


	19. Unstable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last time skip, PCs reached level 18!

If it isn’t my favourite group of adventurers, yet again ready to face the imminent dangers of this world… So, you’ve returned from your successful battle with the oni and are waiting to hear reports about the interrogation. On the meantime, some of you joined the researchers looking for information on the archives about the Masters or powers similar to theirs, while the others decided to train or just lay around. After a whole week of waiting, you receive the report on what they managed to extract from the monster. Here you have it.

"Oh, it’s quite long," Marga comments, looking at the paper from afar. 

"Who should read it?" Tauros asks immediately passing it around, clearly not wanting to take the task. 

"Oh, oh!! Robin should!!" Persephone says, really excited for some reason. "You know, like how he does on TV!! Then it would feel suuuuper investigation-like, right?"

"Oh, well…" Robin says, unsure look on his face.

"Good thinking!!"

"Charm us with your sexy voice Goro-chan," Pego says with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"..." Robin glares at him from the corner of his eye, eyes narrowing in annoyance. He clears his throat and takes the paper. "Oh, here it’s says it’s an urgent notice… let’s see."

_Dear members of Yogen’s investigation team;_

_We refer to you this urgent report about the interrogation that took place upon the perpetrator you detained and other matters that are tormenting the citizens of Ayama once again._

_After many tries, the kidnapper finally bend the knee and spoke about some “Masters” who are gathering capable people to aid them on their goals. With much condescendence, he also proclaimed that said “Masters” had already acquired the perfect subjects and are awaiting the perfect moment to strike, so no matter what you do, you won’t be able to stop them. That is as much as we could extract._

_The perpetrator was executed once the interrogation was over. Fortunately, we managed to locate the abducted victims and bring them back to safety, a part from a few of them that had been devoured by the monster. Most of them were children, so the government has decided to erect a monument on Ayama’s central square to their memory._

_Another thing we wish to discuss in this letter is an incident that occurred shortly after the execution. By some sort of manner that we still haven’t uncovered, all type of magic in the city has stopped functioning. Be it spells or magical objects, no type or arcana, divine or nature magic is able to be summoned. We suspect it is very much related to the case, so we ask for immediate backup._

_We are awaiting your return._

_Sincerely,_

_Ayama’s government defence office_

"Well, that sure sounds worrisome," comments Robin once he’s concluded reading the letter, passing it around the table so the others can have a look as well. 

"We’re going back to Ayama then?" asks Tauros, once again passing around the letter without looking at it.

"Ugh, too bad Shiho was busy this weekend…" lamets Persephone in a small voice.

"We should get going then, we have some days of travel to get to Ayama," suggest Adriael.

Very well, anything you want to do before you arrive?

"I supposed we would have checked our new items during the journey, yes?" says Marga.

Right right, let me see, you got… the Bubble wand, the Circlet of Telekinesis and between the Fish key, the Monkey gloves and the Ring of Three Wishes the dice decided that… you got the key! Here you are...

"Let’s see if we can distribute them…" says Persephone, reading the pieces of paper aloud.

"I think the Bubble wand should probably go to a physical hitter, since they’re going to be closer to the target," proposes Pego as he moves a pen around his fingers skilfully.

"Mmhh, sounds good… Adriael then?"

"I’ll take it," responds the monk, taking the paper from Persephone. "I’ll… save the charges, just in case. What about the other two?"

"I think the key can go to general storage for now, and the circlet…"

"Can anyone use it?" asks Félix.

"I think so."

"Who doesn’t have anything? So that we can each have something at least."

"Robin and… Félix I think?"

"You can take it if you want," the cleric says to Robin.

"I’ll gladly do so," he responds, moving to pet Félix head. He retracts when he sees the feline’s claws peaking out.

"Wait, can you put it on with your horns?" murmurs Marga, genuinely curious. 

"It’s a magical object, I’m pretty sure it adapts," Félix replies. "Though it would be funny if he just had it on top of the horns."

"Or just around one horn," Tauros chimes in.

"You should put it on as a choker then," Persephone suggest.

"Now that I think about it, how do you lay your head down when you sleep?" Marga continues with her questions, not paying much attention to the others. "Don’t your horns go all around your head like a crown?"

"A-ah…" Robin stutters, taken aback by the sudden outburst o. 

Ok ok, tiefling bullying time is over. Anything else?

"Actually, there is something I would like to do…" says Robin as he safely puts the information of his new item away. "Once I have a chance, I want to get into the Pocket Spa by myself and commune with my patron."

All right. You get into the massage room, lock the door and prepare all the necessary things to perform your communion. What do you want to ask Them?

"... I assume this ‘incident’ is also part of this whole debacle. How should I proceed?"

You feel the usual cold sensation run down your spine, as tiny freckles of fey magic start to glow up around the air, almost giving you small electrical shocks. You flinch a little bit, but keep your eyes closed, and you hear a familiar voice echo in your mind. “Uncover the source of the power and bring it to me”.

"The source huh…" he scoffs in a small voice. "The fact that we won’t be able to use magic will be an inconvenience, can you tell me anything about it?"

“I can’t ascertain for sure their methods, but you have quite capable companions… I bet they’ll do the work for you”.

"Let’s hope so…" he responds with a sigh.

“I shall impart a gift to you, to ensure your victory. Beware, another failure will not be tolerated”. As They say that, Their presence disappears. Just as you stop feeling the cold shivers, a sudden burst of cold pierces through your heart, leaving you stunned for a few seconds. When you regain control of your body, you can feel a faint ache on your muscles, but also a slight increase on your strength. You’ve gained an extra level, mark it down.

"Oh," Robin lets out, visibly surprised.

"Do warlocks always get cool shit like that?" murmurs Ryuji, badly hidden pout showing.

"Jealous?" Félix asks him with what could be interpreted as a smug face.

"… No," he tries to shrug it off. 

Very well, nothing else? You finish your travel and arrive to Ayama. Even though the letter you were sent spoke of the situation as something disastrous, you really can’t point out many differences from your previous visit. That’s normal, of course, since the common folk don’t usually employ magic on their daily life and as such are not affected by the lack of it. When you approach the inner parts of the city though, you start to see more worried looks and distressed people around. Once again you enter the government building to announce your presence and ask for more details.

It seems that the disappearance of magical presence took place around a week and a half ago. Whatever it is that’s nulling the presence of magical power was activated during night time, since there were no complaints or problems detected the day before the incident. As explained on the letter, neither devine, arcane or any other type of magic takes effect. Since most of their investigation tools relay on magic, there hasn’t been much progress as of yet. They sent notices to the surrounding cities and towns, but it seems that only Ayama is affected by it.

"And does anything happen when you try to use magic? I mean, besides not working of course. I don’t know, some… spark, weird effect or something?" asks Persephone.

Do you want to try?

"Mmhh… yes, I’ll do a cantrip."

As you release your hand to cast it, nothing comes out. It’s as if you never cast it, no other effect is caused. I want you all to keep in mind, this affects your spells and your magical items. All of them. You can’t enter the spa, can’t use the box, or the whip or anything else that you have. Nothing works.

"Nothing?" Pego repeats suddenly, eyes widening a little bit. "Goro doesn’t get summoned?"

She does not.

"What in the world…"

"This is some serious shit."

"What about the Portable Advisor? Is it moving?" asks Adriael.

The Advisor is a magical creature, and since it’s a living being it doesn’t appear to be affected by it.

"Well, at least..."

"Do you have any idea of what’s going on?" Marga politely asks.

“Well…. I mean, you should probably know about it, but like, magic doesn’t null itself just like that, someone must be tampering with it. It’s quite a large area, so maybe it’s just like the magical flow isn’t working here or something?”

"Magical flow…?" Persephone muses aloud.

Persephone, make an intelligence check for me. 

[18]

Now that you think about it, it makes sense that it could be related to the magic ley lines.

"So it’s the ley lines? Can I check them somehow?"

You get to your knees and place both open palms on the ground, trying to feel the natural flow moving through the ley lines. Make an arcana check.

[15]

You don’t detect any flow of magical power. Which is weird, because you know that these lines run around the whole world, and they don’t just… disappear. 

"So I can assume that magic doesn’t work because the ley lines are basically not here?" she asks.

Pretty much.

"Oh…"

"What can we do now?"

"Well, only Ayama is affected by it, so at some point the ley lines exist… "

"More than that they don’t ‘exist’, I think they might just… not work at the moment. Because the ley lines go all around the world, and we could use magic in Ayama before," Adriael reminds the group.

"That’s true… so at some point they just stop working. Maybe it’s a radius affecting the city?" Marga asks aloud to the group. 

"I think our best bet for the moment is to find the point where the radius stops, see if we can find anything around there that can tell us how they null the flow of magic," Robin suggests.

"And how do we do that?"

"Don’t know… start walking away from the city and cast cantrips all the time until they work?" says Persephone as she shrugs.

"It doesn’t sound very efficient…" Félix adds with a small grimace. 

"What do you propose then? It’s not like we can just know it."

"Mmhh… Well, during our journey here we must have noticed that at some point magic stopped working, right?" asks Adriael.

Yes, it’s possible. Make an… intelligence check for me please.

[4]

But you can’t recall when it was…

"Ok, so we’re doing the cantrip thing then."

"I guess…"

Very well, you inform of your leave and go back to the entrance of the city in search of this edge where the magic starts working. Do you keep casting cantrips all the way?

"Well, once we’re outside, from time to time…"

Ok. You walk for about and hour and a half in a straight line away from Ayama until one of your cantrips is casted.

"So, we’re here…"

"What do we do now?"

"Can I check the ley lines once more? Where they are working," asks Persephone.

Sure, make another arcana check.

[26]

You detect and abrupt cut of the flow of magical energy a few miles away from where you are. It feels like it’s a big ball or cluster where magic suddenly disappears. 

"Oh! That’s it, that must be it! Let’s go there!"

Very well, you walk for another 30 minutes or so and you finally reach the place where Persephone noticed the disturbance. Following your sense, deep beneath the ground you find a spot, a void where there’s no magic, and from that point forward magic stops flowing all together. 

"Mmh… could I roll another arcana check to see if I can figure out just what it is?" asks the wizard.

"I’d like to give it a try as well," Robin chimes in.

Sure, each roll arcana please. Persephone you first, then Robin.

[24]

[13]

Persephone, you concentrate a bit harder on the lines around you and notice that, where they usually expand perpendicular to each other, in this point some of them merge together, clustering with each other until they form this void in front of you.

"The lines… are tied together?"

It seems so.

"Oh, so they made a knot or something and that’s why magic doesn’t flow? Kinda makes sense…" Tauros says as he nods, processing the explanation. 

"But HOW in the world do you modify magic ley lines? That’s like… crazy," Persephone adds, not as convinced as her barbarian companion. 

"We need to figure out a way to restore it then…" murmurs Eran, going into a pensive stand. 

"... Would you say," starts Pego, head casually resting on his open palm. "That the knot is considered to be 'closed'?"

…. Maybe.

"I take the Fish Key out," he continues. "On the side where the magic is still working, and jam it in there."

How do you ‘jam it in’?

"... Stick it to the floor?" he responds, shrugging.

Mmh… roll an arcana check for me.

[19]

You stick the key to the floor and wiggle it around, hoping it might do something, and suddenly you are sent flying in the air 30 feet away. You have quite a bad landing and you hit your head pretty hard, but the knot doesn’t really seem to have been untied...

"Well… what can we do now?"

"I don’t really know… even if we try to dispel it I don’t think it’s going to do anything… and it’s not like we can REACH the cluster…" Persephone says as she starts going through her collection of papers. 

"Can we investigate it for a bit?" asks Adriael. 

Sure, go ahead.

[19]

You spend around 20 more minutes looking around, but you don’t find anything in particular. 

"Nothing at all?" she asks, eyes wide.

"Shall we try casting Dispel Magic? I don’t suspect it will work, but it’s best to try all the possible options," suggests Eran.

"I’ll try then," offers Robin. "I’ll do it at… 5th level, just to make sure."

Make an arcana check please.

[17]

You close your eyes to concentrate and unleash the spell, not very confident. You wait for a few seconds where nothing happens, and just as you’re about to open your eyes another loud explosion takes place and everyone who was next to the cluster of ley lines gets pushed back 30 feet. You get up after the impact and get close again to inspect it. Though they’re still tangled up with each other, you feel a faint flow of magical power starting to move again.

"It worked a... little bit?" Robin says, surprised.

"I didn’t expect that to work in the slightest, honestly," Eran adds, sharing Robin’s bewilderment.

Robin, make an intelligence check for me please.

[16]

Just what could it be, you wonder…

"Ugh, what do we do now?"

"If we dig a hole, we won’t reach it right?" asks Tauros.

"Pretty sure that’s not how it works..."

Can someone roll perception for me?

"... Why are you asking that all of a sudden," says Pego, suspicious.

"I’ll do it," offers Marga.

[28]

Margarita, you are distracted looking at the shape of the clouds, not paying much attention to this arcane rambling that you understand nothing about, when suddenly you notice a weird black spot, there in the distance. You squint your eyes to get a better look and you realize that the spot is getting bigger, and bigger, almost as if it’s getting closer to you all. Then, you see that next to the black spot there’s some smaller ones, but of a metallic, silvery colour, that are flying right next to it. A few more seconds pass and as these mysterious shapes get closer, you can start to see them better. A pair of black wings in a massive, bulbous body. Some weird oval shaped looking ships floating a few feet behind, accompanying the large beast that’s approaching you all at an insane speed. 

You see Kokutanmaru, the black dragon you encountered in Kashira, twice the size you remember them being, their body mutated in a grotesque way, making their scales rise up in spiky thorns, coming to meet you with a group of unidentified ships and a very unfriendly face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know if I feel proud of you or not for not choosing the Deck of Many Things… I was ready to pull some cards and turn this into a total clusterfuck, but you decided not to do it… you’re so lawful good, my beautiful readers. Also, I tried to publish this as quick as possible so sorry if there are more mistakes than usual. 
> 
> I’ll try to have the next chapter as soon as I can! Feel free to follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/nature_check) for notices about the next updates. 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading, and have a lovely week! <3


	20. Parfait for nine

**[New message] Makoto to Ladies’ thief club**

**Makoto (16:03):** I’ve just arrived at Shibuya

 **Ann (16:09):** I already picked Futaba up! 

**Ann (16:10):** Be there in a bit

Makoto stares down at the screen, ready to write down her reply when a sudden scream and soft push take her out of concentration.

"Gruaaaugh!"

"AH!!" she yelps, jumping from the surprise and almost dropping her phone.

"Oh my, so effective!" a giggling voice from behind her says. Makoto turns around to face her assaulter and finds Haru looking at her with soft eyes and a small smile hidden behind her hand.

"You know I get scared easily…" Makoto mutters under her breath, eyes lowering to the floor and embarrassment clear on her flushed cheeks.

"I do," she responds, walking to be next to Makoto as she brushes some of her fluffy hair out of her face. "But I think it’s really cute to see the calm and collected student council president jump like that at a little scare," she teases with another laugh.

"Agh, Akira’s bad habits are rubbing off on you," she adds with a scoff, which is accompanied with more laughter. "Ann said she and Futaba are on her way."

"Good! I’ve been looking forward to this for so long, I’m really excited to try it out!"

"Yes, me too. But I doubt we can compete with Ann’s excitement," she says teasingly, to which Haru giggles.

"You are right. And Futaba also seemed really happy. I’m glad we get to do this together."

The tone of voice in which Haru says it makes Makoto turn her head to look at her. The softness of her expression is so fragile that it’s hard to tell if it’s out of happiness or out of sorrow. A flashback from their sleepover at Leblanc’s appears on Makoto’s mind. Haru’s already told her about how much everyone’s company means to her, to which degree it helps her keep her complex life somewhat steady. Makoto feels the same way, so she agrees with her wholeheartedly.

Maybe it’s because Haru’s vulnerable expression, or because of the sudden heavy weight on her chest, but Makoto feels the sudden need to comfort the other girl. She’s still quite a newbie when it comes to interactions with others, but she remembers seeing Ryuji and Akira sharing reassuring touches with the rest of the thieves whenever they’re going through difficult times. Following their examples, Makoto reaches up and gently grabs the frilly end of Haru’s sleeve, her fingertips softly rubbing against the soft and warm skin of the other’s wrist. The contact makes Haru shoot her head up and lock eyes with Makoto, surprise clear on her features. The brightness of her widened eyes takes Makoto unguarded and embarrassment takes a hold of her, her cheeks starting to heat up and her heart hammering on her chest. Even with the awkward outcome, Makoto’s hand involuntary tightens her hold on Haru, unwilling to let go.

"A-am, I...I’m…" Makoto starts babbling, her mind not letting her formulate a coherent sentence as it’ busy taking in the image of Haru’s own cheeks dusting in the lightest of pinks. 

"Heeey!!!"

Ann’s voice takes both of them out of their trance, and they break they locked gazes to look at the two girls approaching them. Makoto finally let’s go and quickly composes herself to greet her friends.

"Sorry for the wait! Morgana just wouldn’t let us leave…"

"Yeah, why’s it so difficult to understand that’s a “girls only” day?"

"Don’t worry, we didn’t wait long," Haru responds. "Do you know the way to the shop?"

"Yup!! I’ve been checking out that place for so long, I can’t believe we’ll finally get to eat there…" Ann comments, more to herself than to the group, mouth already watering. "Let’s go, let’s go!!"

And so, the group of four make their way out of the Shibuya subway and into the busy streets. Making a semi-circle to protect Futaba from the overwhelming crowd and having to check their phones a few times, they finally manage to find the eye-catching window store from the café they’ve been looking for. They take some time to look at the display of detailed plastic reproductions of the sweets offered in the store. An impatient Ann finally manages to get the rest of the girls off the window and they enter. The waitress guides them to a table in the far corner of the store, next to a beautiful arrangement of carefully tended potted plants that Haru can’t help but stare at for a few moments. 

Seats taken and glasses of water offered, the waitress hands them the menus.

"Oh, we don’t need to look at the menus," Ann says as she stretches her arm. "We want THAT," it’s hard to miss the spark on her eyes as she points at one of the posters with a list of items on the wall opposite to them.

"Ah, understood," the waitress responds with a small nod, retrieving the menus. "It will take a bit to prepare though. I’ll bring four spoons then, yes?"

"Yes please, thank you."

They’re left to their own devices on the table, and they start chatting about school, TV shows, and coffee, with some hidden whispers about their thieving business. About 20 minutes pass until the waitress approaches their table again. This time, she comes accompanied with a co-worker, who’s helping her carry the giant glass cup filled to the rim with every type of sugary delight one can think of. 

Beginning from the bottom, several layers of ice cream, custard, cake and fruits make the foundations of the giant dessert, towering up until it reach the rim of the glass, where it spills out into a swirling top of whipped cream, slices of melon and bananas, entire waffles, rolled cakes, profiteroles, and even more ice cream. The rest is decorated with chocolate flavoured pocky and some cherries and strawberries scattered around.

"Here you go, your order of our special Fruit Mix Giant Parfait!! Enjoy!"

"Aaaaahh!!!" Ann’s the first one to speak up, hands clasped in front of her chest and eyes gleaming with joy. "So beautiful! Just look at the shape of it, it’s like it’s shining!! Pure perfection!!" she starts complimenting the dessert in a Yusuke-like manner, regarding the mountain of food as it truly were a piece of art. 

"I feel fatter just by looking at it…" Futaba comments as well, grimacing at the giant display of sugary food but just as eager to try it.

"Let’s get to it then! Time to eat!!"

Each grabbing a spoon, they start to dig into the parfait. Beginning from the sides and slowly consuming the top, they alternate between bites of fruit and cake, adding some spoonfuls of ice cream from time to time and letting the air fill with happy hums and strays “so good!”.

Ice cream starting to melt and mix in with the rest of the ingredients, an hour later Ann is the last one to lower her spoon, joining the rest of the group in their defeated stands.

"I can’t… anymore…" she mutters, rubbing her stomach in soothing circles.

"It’s too much food…" Futaba adds in the same small voice, splayed out on her chair as if the pose would help her digest the food better.

"But it would be a shame not to eat the rest of it, it’s a waste of food," Makoto tells them, her more practical side quicking in.

"Well, why don’t we ask for backup then?" proposes Haru with a small smile. When the rest of the girls look at her confused, she simply takes her phone and of her bag and opens the chat app.

"Great thinking, I’m sure we’ll manage to finish it then."

"Fair enough, but they better leave some!! I’m just taking a break before starting round two."

"What, you’re gonna ask the boys?" Futaba asks her, still not having catched up. 

"Yes," Haru nods as she starts to type.

"Noooooooooo!!" she yelps in response, straightening up on her chair. "You’ll interrupt Inari’s special mission!!"

"Special mission?"

"Mmmh…." Futaba mutters, reluctant to explain herself. "I have him home painting some minis," she says in a somewhat sheepish voice. "You don’t know how hard it was to get him to do it! Akira gets mad at me when I ask him because Inari gets super in the zone and ignores him all the time. 'This is a very delicate work and I need as much concentration as I can muster!'" she explains, doing her best Yusuke impersonation. "Believe me, it’s way harder to convince Akira than to convince Inari."

"Oohhh, is that why you were taking care of Morgana?"

"Yup," she says. "In exchange, to avoid Joker’s wrath."

"I’m sure Yusuke will be happy to help you another day," Haru tells her smiling. "I’ll message them then."

**[New message] Haru to Rolling Thieves**

**Haru (17:59):** Emergency!!

 **Haru (18:00):** *cameraroll859439.jpg*

 **Haru (18:00):** Backup needed in Shibuya to defeat the Parfait Lord! Location of the attack, Sucreria Café!

 **Ryuji (18:05):** Wtf is that????????

 **Ann (18:05):** Heaven, that’s what it is

 **Makoto (18:06):** If you’re not busy, come helps us finish it up. We can’t eat anymore.

 **Akira (18:13):** Just what were you thinking ordering such a monstrosity

 **Akira (18:15):** Yusuke almost fell down the stairs form how fast he was climbing them down

 **Akira (18:15):** Also, Morgana says it’s not very thoughtful of you to order something he can’t eat

 **Futaba (18:15):** We’ll get something for him too

 **Akira (18:15):** Morgana says: *happy meow*

 **Akira (18:16):** We’re on our way

 **Ryuji (18:17):** Maybe I’ll join a bit later, helping my mom out right now

 **Makoto (18:17):** It’s ok, whenever you can.

 **Makoto (18:17):** Goro, are you busy?

The group chat doesn’t get any further messages, but 15 minutes later, the girls see a familiar figure with flaxen hair and a button up jacket approach their table. The young detective carefully sets his briefcase on the floor as he takes one of the empty chairs near the table.

"Good afternoon," he greets with a small smile, his eyes immediately going to the dessert.

"You got here quick," Ann responds, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, I was in the area," he says as he takes his phone out and extends one of his hands to the giant glass cup. "Do you mind if I take some pictures?"

They all shake their heads unanimously and Akechi proceeds to adjust the parfait to get its best angel. After checking that his hair is all nice and in place, he opens his camera and starts taking selfies with the dessert on the background, all smiles and making peace signs.

"What… do you need that for?" Futaba asks him, arching an eyebrow.

"Social media," he replies without taking his attention off his phone, taking several more pictures.

"Want us to take some then?" Makoto proposes, still a bit surprised by the scene.

"Mmhh…" he responds, pensive. "It can’t hurt, people will figure out I’m with someone with this giant thing anyway," he hands his phone to Makoto. "Is this even good? Isn’t it just… too sweet?"

"EXCUSE YOU," Ann growls at him as she and the rest make sure to get out of the photo.

"I took a few, I hope they are ok," Makoto says as she gives Akechi his phone back.

"Thank you," he smiles and busies himself with the pictures once more, going to edit them before posting them on his various accounts.

"Do you want some of the parfait? We can put it on a plate for you."

"Yes, please," he responds without taking his eyes up. "Sorry, but I need to be responding to comments on the posts for the next hour to help with the algorithm, I won’t be able to participate much on the conversation."

"Wow… Being famous is though huh…"

"Why do all that? I can just boost you up in a moment," Futaba says as she resumes her eating, going for one of the pocky. Akechi looks at her, interest picked.

"That’s…. an interesting offer."

"Gimme gimme!!" she says, doing a grabbing gesture with her hands. Once she has the phone, she fishes out of Ann’s bag her laptop and gets lost typing away.

As Akechi proceeds to grab some of the melted mixture of ice cream, another group of two people join them. Akira and Yusuke approach their table, Morgana’s head peeking out of Akira’s bag. After collecting some more chairs and taking a seat, they greet the group.

"Ah, there’s still plenty left," Yusuke says in a hopeful tone, eyes sparkling.

"Better left some over! I’m watching you…" Ann says menacingly, though Yusuke completely ignores her and takes his share of the sweet. Akira follows suit, making sure to take a variety of the slices of cake, fruit and profiteroles sinking into the forming ice cream soup. 

"Yusuke, do you want the strawberry?" Akira offers him, said berry on the fork he’s holding up.

"Yes please," the artist responds, his face visibly brightening up as he sits a bit straighter, leaning towards the fork. Akira brings it up to his mouth and Yusuke eats it, munching at the fruit happily. He then turns to his own plate and starts taking meticulous bites off of it. 

"Maybe next time we can all meet at the same time so you won’t find it so… undone," Makoto says looking over the glass.

"Oh! I know what we can do!" Ann chimes in, cheerful. "There’s a place where they have these amazing chocolate fondues that I DEFINITELY want to check out! They even have matcha fondues too!"

"Yes, a magnificent idea," Yusuke responds, all smiles and corners of his mouth dirty with ice cream. "Matcha fondue just sounds heavenly delicious. When shall we go?"

"Right?! The deadline is still a few days away, so maybe we can go as a celebration after that!" Ann’s cheerful mood steals everyone’s attention, so no one in the table notices the slight flinch Akechi’s body does at the mention of the deadline.

"Yes, that would be really nice!"

"Let’s check it out at a later date then," Makoto says, getting everyone's gleeful approval but one’s.

"’Kay by me," Futaba adds as she perches herself across the table to get Yusuke’s attention, who’s totally enthralled with the dessert. "By the way Inari, how’s my bone devil mini looking like?"

Some discussions about appropriate colour pallets later, it takes another 50 minutes for the final group of the member to join. By this point, the reminder of the ice cream is almost impossible to eat, so Ryuji settles for ordering some sandwiches for himself.

"What took you so long?"

"My mom bought some new furniture for the living room and wanted me to help her build it… but how am I supposed to help her!! The way those things are written, it’s just impossible to get it! I just ended up moving the pieces up and down all day…"

"Ryuji, you’re such a good boy," Morgana says, snickering.

"Shut up!! Anyway… was that thing good or what?"

"Totally! Wanna go somewhere else after this?"

"It’s pretty late already… I think we should all get home once Ryuji’s done eating."

"Sorry for coming so late…"

"Don’t worry, it’s fine."

When Ryuji finishes his meal, they gather all their things and exit the store once the bill is paid. The group walks together until they reach the entrance of the Shibuya station, and one by one they separate after greeting each other goodbye. Having now less than half the group left, Akira and Futaba get ready to board their own train when the raven notices Akechi staring into the distance, somewhat lost in thought. Though his expression is blank, there’s a subtle hint of melancholy in it.

"Goro, are you ok?" Akira asks him, having noticed the detective spacing out.

"Ah," he responds, the mask of his jovial persona slipping on his features. "Of course," his lips curve upwards, as if pulled by invisible strings, but his eyes remain dark and cold.

Akira’s about to press further, but a gentle tug on his sleeve and the sound of Yusuke’s voice claim his attention, and the moment gets lost in the Shibuya crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello sweet peas, hope you’ve been doing well! I also hope that, after such a long wait, you enjoyed the chapter! I didn’t think I would be as busy as I am… I don’t know how long it’ll take me to finish the last two chapters, but rest assure, they will be done.  
> As always, thanks for reading, and have a lovely week! <3


	21. The big baddies

And here you have it, approaching you at rapid speed, your last challenge awaits, dear adventurers. What do you want to do?

"What?! Already?! No long-ass introduction this time?!" Tauros exclaims, seemingly on edge.

"I think we should run. Anyone else thinks we should run? Run. Let’s run! Votes for running?" Persephone asks frantically around the table. 

"I’m in," chimes in Pego, hand slightly raised.

"Do we even have some kind of way to get away from here, or…?" Marga begins to wonder aloud, though she gets interrupted.

The rapid movement of Kokutanmaru’s wings moves the air, whirling around you and making it more difficult to see the approaching figures. One last strong flap forces you all to shield your face with your arms, making you lose eye contact with the group for a second. Next thing you know, a tremendous rumble shaking the earth forces you to look up. Before you is Kokutanmaru’s gigantic maw, teeth impossibly sharp and leaking a rotten looking green pus that smells foul. You can hear them trying to control low, threatening growls as they observe you one by one, eyes filled with hatred. 

While you’re distracted taking in this image, the cluster of ships following the dragon land as well. Now that you can take a closer look, you see that they seem to have a very particular formation around some sort of glowing area, though you can’t see much of it since the metallic bodies of these odd looking ships are blocking it. 

“Seems like you never have enough of meddling on other people’s business, do you?” The black dragon’s voice is thunderous, with a darktone on it that you don’t remember hearing before. The liquid coming off their teeth pools on the floor, which slowly starts to dissolve. You also see how Kokutanmaru is digging their claws into the earth repeatedly, as if they were in a terrible pain, and their breath is heavy. 

“This has been a long awaited encounter.”

The new interlocutor takes you by surprise. Interlocutors, I should say. A mix of different voice that all speak at once, and somehow manage to combine as to make a single one. The soft tone of it makes you get goose bumps. 

You turn to the source of the sound and see a long line of tall, thin figures exiting the ships. They’re wearing long, intricate robes, the colour of which merges with the pale grey skin covering their skeletal bodies, the wet looking texture of it making their hairless, oval heads shine in the blinding sun. You feel as though you’re getting consumed on the pools of pure, black void that are their eyes, all staring at you intently. 

“Elected ones… The time has arrived.”

"..." Tauros stares for a few seconds, expression blank. "Are they fucking aliens?"

"... Did you just put aliens as our final boss?" Adriael’s expression matches the barbarian’s.

"H-how?!?! This is a medieval high fantasy universe and you put aliens on it!?" Persephone joins the confused group as Robin lets out a long sigh, face just as bewildered.

"'Elected ones'? What’s the meaning of that?" asks Eran, just as serious as before.

"Why aren’t you freaking out about A L I E N S?!" Félix says somewhat alarmed.

"Are you the Masters? You’ve been causing all this trouble?" Marga continues with the questioning, also unfazed.

"You brainwashed the dragon…" murmurs Pego, pensive.

"YOU TOO?!"

“Please, hold you hostilities. We created the irregularity in this specific point of your plane of existence so that this meeting could occur. We wish to congratulate you for your successes, and inform you that your quest has come to an end.”

"Are we really glossing over the alien part?" Robin finally speaks up, eyebrow slightly twitching. 

"An end?" Pego pushes to continue the conversation. 

“Precisely. We finally managed to determine you worthy of becoming our next warriors, and so there’s no need to further our advances. You all did wonderfully, certainly the most capable ones we’ve encountered so far.”

"I don’t get it… what do you mean you 'chose' us?" Persephone questions, seemingly giving up and accepting the nature of the Masters.

"What’s the dragon doing?" Adriael wonders, worried.

They’re just waiting in their spot, though their body is twitching and squirming, as if it were impossible for them to stay put. 

“It is quite simple. We are recruiting hands for our community. Not only creatures like this,” They gesture to Kokuntanmaru. “We are in dire need of capable humanoid individuals to obliterated the obstacles presented to us during our expanse through the cosmos. It was vexing, to see you destroying our allies at first, but soon we realised that proved that you all were ideal to serve as our main advance force. You have more than proven yourselves, and so, have been selected.”

"So all this time, we thought we were helping people…"

"But we were just digging our own graves…?"

“Once your wills have been erased, we will depart from this plane and proceed with our agreed plan. Well then, please get inside the ships.”

"LIKE HELL WE ARE GOING TO!! AND WHY DID YOU FUCK UP THIS PLACE SO MUCH IF YOU DON’T EVEN CARE ABOUT IT!?"

“The Material Plane is just a farming land, a place in which resources are many. There is little interested in it besides it, so whether or not it stays in a chaotic state after our leave is of no concern. This conversation drags long. Proceed to the ships at onc-”

"Don’t tell me you thought we would just do as you say," Pego says, voice calm but cold.

"Yeah, no way we’re letting you take us! Or spread chaos to the rest of the universe!" adds Félix.

"Let’s do this!!" Persephone’s voice cheers up the rest of the group and they all get ready to take action.

“Resistance is futile,” as they say that, they start to move to the sides to create a clear path up the ramp of the different ships. The purplish light emanating from the centre of them flashes brighter, almost blindingly so. “Let us depart without further delay.”

As they say that, the light makes a slight flick and Kokutanmaru, who’s been clawing at the grown in desperation, growls angrily and jumps at all of you. It’s time for your final challenge!

_[ Skill challenge: The Masters’ Champions. The players can choose 1 of 3 options: attack, free action or aid a companion. Once the option is selected, the player will roll a d10 to see to which degree said action is successful: 1-5 fail, 6-8 mild success, 9-10 great success. _

_Each round, the Masters will try to charm two PCs and take them into their ships. Once charmed, the player will have to obey the Masters orders unless one if their teammates manages to break the spell. If 5 players get charmed, the Masters will escape with their selected champions._

_Destroy the source of the light before your party is taken over!]_

Everyone, please roll initiative!

Pego: [25]

Kokutanmaru: [22]

Félix: [19]

Adriael: [17]

Tauros: [17]

Persephone: [13]

The Masters: [11]

Eran: [10]

Marga: [6]

Robin: [5]

"Why did the dragon roll so high!!!"

"Ugh, yours three are pretty bad…"

"Yes, this is quite troubling…" Eran frowns at his die.

Before you take your turns… Robin.

"Yes?" replies the tiefling, surprised. 

When the light starts to glow brighter, you hear the all too familiar voice of your Patron ring in your head, the usual cold shiver running down your body. “There it is… Can you feel the raw power emanating from it? It’s a core of pure energy, probably the source of all their peculiar powers, and also the one keeping this ley line knotted. Allaying with them will not benefit us… so let’s just take it. This artefact is crucial for us, do not lose it.”

"..." Robins sighs, eyes looking tired. "And everyone will try to break it…?" he nods several times. "Fine."

"Uff dude, you have it rough…" Tauros says, somewhat sympathetic. 

Let’s start then, Pego!!

"We need to get closer to the ships if we want to destroy that thing… I’ll try to approach it carefully, so that they don’t notice I’m separating from the group."

Very well, make your roll. 

[3]

You trip just the slightest bit, but it’s just enough for Kokutanmaru to notice you. Speaking of which… it’s their turn. Since you are right there, they’ll try to get both you and Robin in their acid breath. [1] [10] Pego, you move to avoid the acid spray, making so the full force of it hits Robin directly. Please Robin, mark down on your sheet that you have been hit. Félix, your turn.

"Does Robin look… hurt?"

He’s been showered with acid, but besides that…

"I want to heal him, if possible."

Mmhh… ok.

[5]

You’re too distracted with everything going around and can’t manage to get your spell off. Adriael, you’re up.

"Tauros," she calls, looking at her companion. "Let’s distract the dragon so that the rest can approach the ship."

"Sounds good to me!" the barbarian agrees, excited.

You go right after her, so sure, let’s have you both roll.

[4]

[2]

Unfortunately, Kokuntamaru’s rage is consuming them so that they’re not affected by your taunts. Persephone?

"I’ll try to get closer to the ship too."

[2]

The black dragon is blocking your way, making it impossible for you to approach the Masters. It’s their turn now…

"Yikes…"

"This is gonna be bad…"

You see them all raising their hands at the same time, their long, thin fingers aimed at your group. Half of them are pointing at Robin, while the other half points at Marga. Can I have both of you roll please?

"I don’t know if it counts for this, but… I’m immune to charm," Marga says, carefully going through her character sheet. 

You are?

"Yes, here it says 'immune to charmed, disease, frightened, poison, poisoned'" she reads aloud.

"Damn that’s good!! Where did you get all that from?!"

"It says here it’s because of 'Nature’s Ward'."

Yes, I forgot about that… I’ll take note of it. Robin, you still have to roll. Since you got hit by Kokutanmaru’s attack, you have disadvantage. 

"Do I now…"

[2]

You get charmed by the blinding light, your expression going blank and your limbs slack. You start to move directly to the ramps, taking slow steps. You’ll get to it on the in two rounds. Eran, you are up.

"There must be something I can do to stop Robin…" he muses aloud, chin in his hand. "Does he attack me if I extend my hand to him?"

He doesn’t.

"May I try to hold him back then?"

Sure.

[5]

You grab him by the wrist but he keeps pushing forward, dragging you with him. Marga, it’s your turn.

"I’ll help Eran! I grab Robin’s other arm!"

Ok, roll with advantage then.

[9]

Nice! With both of you holding him, you manage to stop him for the time being, but he’s still trying to make his way there. Robin, your turn would be next but since you are charmed, you don’t have free will, so you will roll for me to try and break their holds.

"I can’t choose anything, huh…" he muses to himself, somewhat annoyed. 

[4]

"Yeeeeey!!!" Persephone exclaims, happily.

"Yes, well done!!"

"The first time we’re happy to see bad rolls," Marga joins the merry group, clapping.

Well done! Starting round two, Pego, it’s your go!

"Making my way to the ships again, trying to hide form the Master’s gaze."

[10]

Well done! You expertly move to hide yourself in the dragon’s shadow so that no one can see you. Now, this time Kokutanmaru will aim their breath…

"What, they have it back already?!"

Yup, this time it works with a different mechanic. Let’s see… Persephone and Adriael… [9] [7] You both get hit by it! Please mark it down. Félix, it’s back to you.

"I think… I will try and move next to Pego instead of trying to deal with the acid."

[7]

You successfully move forward, but can’t really make out where Pego is. Adriael?

"I’m starting to think…" she begins, eyes serious. "That since the Masters want us alive, the dragon won’t try to hurt us in any manner. So… I think we should focus on the light," she tells the rest of the group. "I’ll advance to the ships too."

[1]

You were so engaged with Kokutanmaru that it’s difficult for you to shrug them off. Tauros?

"I’m gonna go back and help those two with Robin."

Great, roll with advantage.

[6]

I see… since it’s three of you holding him down, let’s say you managed to avoid him getting closer to the ship this turn. The Masters don’t look pleased at all… Persephone, what will you do?

"The light is trapped within the ships, yes? I’ll throw a Fire Ball to it to see if they blow over!!"

You go so easy on those! This spells turns people into pyromaniacs… Thankfully, the knot stopping the flow of magic is on the other side of where you are, so you can cast your spells. 

[8]

You hit the cluster of ships and a part of the metal flies off! It’s a small part, but you now have a path into the source of the light. Seeing what you’ve done, the Masters glare down at you and point at you and Adriael ominously. Please both of you roll with disadvantage… Wait, since you usually have advantage Persephone, you just take a straight roll.

"Nice!"

Let’s see, Adriael?

[6]

You resist the effect, but are stunned until the end of you next turn. Persephone?

[2]

Just like Robin, the colour leaves your face and you body goes slack. You start moving towards the ships as well. Eran, back at you. 

"Well, seems like the situation here is handled… so, making sure I’m on the side where magic still flows as well, I will cast the spell [Mislead](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/mislead) and make my double stay with the group, acting as if we’re still stopping Robin, while I approach the opening to the light with the rest."

Nice call! Make a roll to see if you manage to pass by the dragon undetected. Do it with advantage, since you’re invisible. 

[6]

Ok, they do not see you, but they attention is now cantered on the group at the very back. Which includes you Marga, what do you want to do? 

"You are being very stubborn!" she says to Robin in a scolding tone, to which the warlock looks confused. "I will turn him into a little mice with Polymorph and keep him in my pocket!"

Ahahaha ok! Robin, roll to see if you manage to resist it.

"Use your cursed dice so that you fail!"

[1]

"HELL YEAH!!" Tauros cheers, high-fiving with Persephone.

"Yeeeeeeyy!!!"

"The happiest 1 of our lives!!"

"Bless the heavens Goro’s die are cursed!"

"This is not looking good me," the tiefling says, sighing again.

Nice!! Robin turns into the cutest, tiniest mice. You catch him and carefully place him within your robes. Even though you now have the mice’s intellect, Robin, the charm still compels you to head towards the ship, so please roll to see if you can escape from Marga.

"There’s no way I’ll complete my mission like this…" he whispers to himself, die rolling between his thumb and index fingers.

[8]

You escape from the tangles of her robes, making a beeline to the Masters! I can’t believe you’ll make me look up the stats of a mice…

"No, come back here!!" Marga yells at him, expression somewhat angry.

"I-it’s not my fault, I’m not choosing what to do!" Robin responds, hands raised as if to calm her down.

We enter round three! Pego, you are hidden in Kokutanmaru’s shadow, and see a clear path to the small opening that Persephone made, though you can’t really make out what’s inside. You also have no idea of the situation of your other companions… What do you do?

"I push forward."

[7]

You can’t avoid getting noticed this time, but you do reach the opening. Peering inside, you see a crystal looking device inside, the same purple as the one of the light. It is roughly cut and it’s attached to the ships by several cables. You assume that is the power core the Master’s are using to charm you allies. Since you take the rest of your turn to take in the scene, that’s all you can do for now. Next up we have Kokutanmaru, who will aim their acid spray to you, Pego, since you got way too close to the ship, and Marga. Let’s see…. a [7] for Pego and a [2] for Marga, please write that down. Félix, what do you do? 

"I want to follow Pego up to the ships and… try to take the acid off? Or heal him somehow so that he won’t have the vulnerability?"

Mmmh… make the roll first.

[9]

Ok, since you got a high result I’ll allow it. Pego, you don’t have the acid vulnerability anymore. Next would be Adriael, but she’s stunned so can’t do anything. But at the end of your turn the stun goes away! Tauros, you’re up. 

"That wand thingy we just got… Adriael has it, yes?"

Yes, I believe so…

"’Kay, so I get to her to grab it and try to use it on Persephone."

Smart move, well done! Just roll to see if you aim it correctly.

[4]

Unfortunately, it misses… but it was really good thinking! Speaking of which, it’s Persephone’s turn, but since she’s charmed she just keeps making her way to the ships ramps. Wow, turns are going fast… Back to the Masters! This time, they will point at the people closest to them, because they’re become a bit of a threat. Please roll Pego and Félix.

"Me first!" says the feline.

[7]

"Nyahahaha!"

"Well done," Pego congratulates him as he throws his die.

[2]

"Oh!" part of the table gasps at the same time.

"Oh no!! You’re right there!! Right there on the ship!!"

Mmhh… things are starting to look up for me… Very well then. Eran?

"I would like to keep taking advantage of my invisibility and approach the ships as well. Meanwhile, I will make my illusion seem as if it’s helping Marga."

All right, you get to the same opening Pego reached, from which he’s step out off since he’s now trying to enter the ships.

"Marvellous," the bard says with a small smile. "Is there a way for me to get inside?"

Inside the thing? I mean… roll to see if you figure out a way inside. 

[7]

Ok, you see some nooks where you can slip through, but maybe you can’t get out of there.

"That is fine. I am done with my turn then. I believe Marga is next."

"Yes, but I’m stunned…"

Indeed you are… And Robin is still charmed, so he keeps making his way to the ships in his mice form.

Moving on, already at round four!! First in Pego, who’s charmed so he spends the entirety of his turn walking to the Masters. Since he’s so close, he will get inside on the next round. 

"We need to stop him. Now."

Next up, Kokutanmaru… the most problematic right are probably Tauros and Félix, because they can’t see Eran, so if you please…

"I got it man."

[9]

"HAH, told ya!!"

"Ouch, my ears!" Persephone complains.

"Let’s see…" Félix goes.

[3]

"Oh no."

"Your illusion can’t catch the mouse, can it?" Adriael asks Eran.

"It can not. It is merely a ghost in my image, any physical object passes through it."

"Well shit…"

Moving along, Félix, it’s your turn. The acid hasn’t had a chance to stun you yet. What do you do?

"A-am.. I g-guess I’ll try to hold down Pego?"

[4]

He slips out of your grasp when you approach him. Adriael?

"I want to do the same, but with Persephone."

[8]

That’s a success! You hold them down using your strength and you’ve stopped her for the turn. Tauros?

"Mmmhh…. Still got a charge on this thing… Might as well try it on Pego," he says, somewhat grumpy.

[8]

"IT WORKED!!"

It did! You see a shimmering force escape the tip of the wand and wrap itself around Pego, popping out and forming a perfect sphere around him. Pego is now floating in the air inside the hamster ball.

"Why does it all seem to be related to rodents today…?" murmurs Eran.

Let’s see, Persephone’s up now… You will try to fight off Adriael’s grasp.

[3]

Which you fail to do! So she’ll still have a hold of you during the next round. Now the Masters… seeing the situation, they will target the two that keep holding back their targets. Adriael and Tauros, roll please.

"I will go first."

[4]

"Great…"

You let go of Persephone. Tauros? With disadvantage. 

[10]

"UUUGGHH, I’M ON FAYAHH!!!"

Things start to look dire…!! Eran, what will you do?

"I don’t know if it is possible, so allow me to walk you through it. I would like to enter the core chamber through the path I found."

Ok… I won’t make you roll, but I will say that you can only fit through and arm and half of your torso.

"Am I able to touch the crystal though?"

Yes. You expect it to be warm, but it’s actually as cold as ice, making you retract your hand for a moment.

"Perfect. Now that I’m touching it, I want to cast Dimension Door and teleport it outside the ship, as far away from the Masters as I can."

… Gimme a sec.

"YUSUKE THAT’S RAD!!"

"Wait, what does she mean? Did we do it? Did you do it!?!"

"At least Eran’s managed to take it away, now we have to destroy it."

Ok. Eran, you cast you spell and teleport 500 feet away from the ships, crystal in hand. It is so big that you can barely lift it up with both your arms, so you rest it on the ground. Having taken it off the cables that kept it in place, the flashing lights stop momentarily, making the charm spell end. All your allies snap out of their stupor, though they take some time to come back to themselves. You all stare down at Eran, who stares back, breath laboured and eyes uncertain. 

“H O W D A R E Y O U…?!?”

You hear the Master’s voice echoing all around you, their intense gaze fixed on your bard companion. You see the crystal on his possession start to glow once more, forcing him to shield his eyes with his arm, but before the light gets too intense the infected black dragon’s maw snatches it out. They crash the power core with their poisonous sharp teeth until it smashes into a million tiny pieces. It looks like you managed to break the charm on Kokutanmaru as well. They slowly turn around, their body flinching and eyes full of pain. 

“You… toyed… with me…”

The dragon’s voice is weak, and their form drags as they take slow, heavy steps towards the Masters.

“You… twisted…”

“Foul beast, return to…!”

They don’t give the Masters a chance to speak. Gathering their last bit of strength, Kokutanmaru starts smashing and stomping on the ships, practically going berserk on them.

“You took my mind…!! You took my life…!! You destroyed my home…!!” the dragon growls as they bath part of the crowd of strange creatures with acid, making them screeching in pain, the high pitch of their voices making your head hurt.

"I think we should get out of here," Adriael says to the rest of the table, expression hard.

"Yeaaaaahh I don’t wanna get involved in that…" replies Tauros with a grimace.

"But Pego’s still trapped in the ball…" Marga reminds them. 

"Hey Félix, do you still have the spell that makes us super stealthy?" asks Persephone.

"Mmh… yes, I do."

"Let’s cast that and leave. Someone should roll the hamster ball away. Tauro’s, you do it," Adriael instructs him, making the barbarian protest and the rogue laugh at him. "Also, Eran. Try to grab as many pieces of the broken core as you can before we leave."

"Of course."

"Speaking of hamster balls… Am I still a mice?" asks Robin.

Marga hasn’t drop polymorph, so yeah. 

"I’ll pick him up and place him on my robes again, we don’t have time," responds the druid.

Ok. Félix, you cast Pass without Trace and all of you cluster together to bolt out of there. Roll me a single stealth roll, we will consider it a group check. Add your modifier. 

[22]

Very well. You manage to get away form the conflict without much issue. You run for almost 40 minutes, until you find a nice patch of thick trees to hide in. Even in here, you can still hear dragon roars and smashing sounds from the distance.

"Did we…. did we do it?"

"I mean, I suppose that since the crystal is broken the Masters don’t have any kind of power anymore… and it looks like the magic is flowing again?"

You assume so. No way of knowing for sure without checking on it.

"What will we do with the dragon though…?"

"It looks pretty weak, maybe we can take them on once they’re done with the Masters…"

"Some of us got pretty hurt form the acid though, maybe now is not a good time… Also Marga, you should turn Robin into a human again."

"Oh yes, just let me…"

Can Marga, Eran and Tauros roll perception for me please?

"Huh?" Tauros says, surprised from the sudden request.

"That… doesn’t sound good…"

"Yes, it does not. Allow me," says Eran.

[22]

Marga and Tauros?

"Sure," says the druid.

[15]

[15]

"We rolled the same!!" Tauros exclaims happily, going to high five Marga.

"Yeah, but they were bad rolls…" murmurs Félix.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

ANYWAY, Eran. As you take a second to recover from the intense encounter, you look at the flora around you and notice a peculiar tree. Much more greener than the rest, it stands at least a few feet taller as well, and it’s trunk is very thick. This tree doesn’t seem to belong here.

"I see… I will make sure to point it out to the rest of the group. May I roll a nature check to see if I can ascertain something else about it?"

Go ahead.

[23]

You look at the tree, taking in all the details and trying to figure out what its deal is. Slowly, you start to notice a faint aura from it that resonates with you. You focus on that point, eyes fixed on the green bark, and just as you realise that strange aura is emanating fey magic, you see the tree starting to split open. 

The bark breaks, pulling apart from each other. You see a furry hand of dark brown hair and long nails reach through. The hand extends forward, the tree still opening up until a humanoid shoulder gets out as well. The tree bends to the side and the figure finally steps out. You see a male of fair face, carefree smile and thick horns that curl backward into a mop of curly hair. He wears simple robes, which cover most part of his body. He stands up, the hooves of his furry legs sinking into the earth. The satyr eyes all of you carefully and raises his voice to address you.

"Ugh…" Robin growls in complain, his hand rubbing down his face.

"What?" Félix asks him, confused by the exasperated tone.

“So this is the merry group... I see. Let’s make this quick, yes? May you release my poor ward from where you have him trapped?”

"Ward…?" repeats Persephone, lost as well.

"He’s my Patron…" Robin voice comes out in a whisper, hands clasped in front of his face.

"What?!"

"Don’t know what you’re talking about," Pego suddenly says, expression calm.

“Don’t think you can fool me, human. I sense his presence hidden between the ropes of the half-orc. Do not waste my time,” he warns all of you, though his voice stays calm. “Give back the incompetent fool. He’s failed one to many times, so I see myself forced to intervene and… readjust, his determination.”

"Wow there hold on," Tauros interjects, eyebrow raised in mild anger. "If he’s so useless why do you want him back?"

"Listen…" Robin tries to interject, but is stopped by Tauros.

"Shut it, you are a rat. Get out of here, no way we’re letting you lay a hand on him," the barbarian sneers back, closed fist coming down to rest on the table.

"Everyone, stay on guard," Adriael commands the group. 

"Can I quickly whisper to Marga? Unnoticed," Pego interjects.

Mmmh… make a slight of hand check. 

[14]

Go ahead.

"..." Pego sighs but proceeds anyway. "Get him out, fly away."

"... Ok," Marga says back, nodding. Robin keeps moving his eyes from one to the other, wide in shock. "I take a few steps back and Wildshape into a giant eagle."

"No, wait…" Robin tries to take the group’s attention once away, but they refuse to listen to him. 

As you start to move, the figure takes some steps towards Marga. “I assure you, it would be-”

"I step in front of her and throw a dagger at him," Pego responds, ready to let the die in his hand fall to the table.

"If I see him distracted with the dagger, I’ll cast Banishment on him!!" Persephone joins the offensive. Her body is tense but her eyes are determined.

"Marga, you must keep going," Eran tells her companion, who nods eagerly. 

“Now now…” as his eyes are fixated on Pego, Persephone’s spell comes from the side and hits him. [29] His charisma is pretty high… The spell sizzles out, but Marga manages to transform and fly away from the group. “This actitud is getting intolerable. I’m certain you have better things to lose life over,” he takes out a fiddlestick and takes on a threatening pose. Since Pego’s the one closes to him, he’ll go to attack him. [22] Does it hit?

"No," he responds, voice clear.

… It doesn’t?

"He’s lying, of course it hits!" intervenes Félix, ruffling his tail on Pego’s face as a way of scolding him. 

Ugh, you’re just making things more difficult! You take [18] points of damage paralyzed until the end of your next turn. 

"How in the world did he do that with a fiddlestick?"

"I don’t think we can do this..."

"Hey, is the tree behind him still open?" Tauros says.

Now that you mention it, yes it is.

"I try to charge him and push him back into the tree."

Ok... Ok, roll athletics for me. 

[30]

"Fuck off goat man!! Persephone burn that tree down!!"

Very well, you shoulder him strong enough to get part of his body back inside the tree he came from. Are you really burning it Persephone?

"Yeah I am! Got plenty of Fire Balls to spare!!"

"We must make haste. I shall take my action to polymorph myself into beast large enough to transport the rest of the group and charge off," proposes Eran. 

"Don’t worry, I believe Tauros and I can run fast enough," Adriael says addressing Eran.

"Wait, but Pego’s paralyzed…!" Persephone reminds them.

"Fear not, I shall carry him lifting him up by his cloak, as if he were a little kitten."

"Let’s get out of here then!" Félix rushes the group. 

Persephone and Félix, you mount on Eran’s beastly from and all of you bolt out of the cluster of trees without looking back, your sight fixated on the faint outline of the Ayama city walls in the distance. You can see the silhouette of Marga up in the sky heading that direction as well. 

You are so concentrated on running away that you don’t realize that the sounds of fighting have stopped. You don’t take notice of it until you see Kokutanmaru fly up, flapping their wings with difficulty. You see their putrid black form head to the direction opposite of yours, quickly getting out of view when they enter the mountain range.

"Well, that won’t be a problem... at least for now," Adriael says to herself, not sounding very convinced.

You reach Ayama and immediately collapsed to the floor once you’re inside the city walls. Robin, on the way here you transform back into a tiefling. 

"Is it really done now? Over over?" Persephone asks, sighing in relief. 

"I don’t know, that satyr can appear at any moment.. I don’t think we send him back through the portal…"

"Why…" Robin starts, taking his eyes up from where he had fixed them on the table when the conflict started. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" Tauros

"Fight off my Patron."

"What, you wanted us to let him take you?" responds Tauros with and arched eyebrow.

"That was not your decision to make," Robin says, his face hard.

"Didn’t sound like he was going to make you have a good time," Pego adds with a small shrug. 

"Are you angry at us that we did that?" Marga asks in a small voice, eyes hurt.

"But we really couldn’t let him take you…" Persephone joins in as well, looking at Robin with the same pained expression.

"I still have a pact with him, remember? He can get to me anytime," the tiefling comes back with a snarl. 

"Well, we can work on that next. It seems are most pressing issues are taken care of anyways," Eran tries to reassure him as well. 

"Yes, there must be some way to stop it," Adriael turns to smile at Robin.

"You can trust us Robin!!" says Félix as he places one of his paws on Robin’s hand.

"Chin up, we’ll help you," Pego chimes in once more, looking directly at the warlock.

"…" Robin takes his time to eye each of them carefully, taking their words in. His face becomes blank, lacking any type of expression, though his eyes keep a deep pool of turmoil in them. "… Fine. I…" his voice grows weak, and he coughs a bit to regain it. "Thanks."

"You are most welcome," Eran responds with a small nod and a smile, apparently missing Robin’s tone. 

"We’ll… discuss that topic later if you want, I think we should settle things here first," Adriael proposes to the whole group. 

"But I’m beaaaaaaat…" Tauros.

"Let’s rest up in a tavern and ask for a govern representative to come meet us there."

Very well. You go inside the nearest tavern to lick your wounds there while you wait, drinking and eating the pain away. After some time, a group of two guards, well adorned, and a scholar looking person approach you. You explain to them all that has happened (omitting your encounter with the Satyr Prince) and hand over the pieces of the crystal that you manage to recover. They thank you for your work and leave you be, saying that they’ll contact you again the next day. 

Once they exit the tavern, you return to your meals, enjoying them in silence, as your moods start to lift up when the warmth of the food seeps into your bodies. 

***

It’s been 6 months since that fateful day. During this time, the government's of Yogen, Ayama, and all the neighbouring cities big and small have joined forces and worked together to re-establish balance on this part of the Material Plane. Though there’s still much to do, they’ve managed to recover all the shards of the power crystal that was destroyed during your encounter with the Masters and have successfully eliminated them. The biggest ones, which Eran provided upon your return, are being kept under lock and key on Ayama’s main investigation facilities as a support and guide to slowly reverse all the brainwashing and devastation the Masters created. 

Nothing else has been known of them. No more incidents have been reported. But it is hard for you to know if they really were banish by the infected black dragon, because when you return to the place were their enraged battle occurred, there was nothing to be found there, not a single trace of evidence. You also haven’t heard about Kokutanmaru at all.

As for all of you, since you were external hands hired by Yogen to help on the issue, you were released when the case was considerer closed and were left to you own devices, your pocket’s full of the shiny and heavy gold you were promised as a reward. If you don’t mind, I would like each of you to tell us what you’ve been doing during this time and what your goal is going into the future. Who wants to start?

"I’ll go," Adriael says, breaking the silence at the table. "As you may all remember, I am a member of Yogen’s government, and was the one who offered you to work on our mission. Obviously, I believe I returned to my post when it was all over, and took on any new jobs that came my way. Though I believe I have a new partner…" she stops, turning to look at Robin.

"Yes, I was offered a new job position on the government, and I accepted. They also helped develop the gem bindings that sever the connection to my Patron, so I’m more or less indebted to them."

Yes, I believe that was a group effort. With Persephone leading the project, all of your teammates contributed to create the prototype for this enchantment, by either providing materials or knowledge, but it was the Yogen government that funded the whole thing. With one large opal on your neck, two emeralds on the tip of your horns, an onyx on each of your wrists and a diamond on each ankle, your former Patron cannot reach you for as long as you have these gems on your person. That also means that you lost all your magical abilities, but I believe you’re ok with that. 

"I am," Robin nods.

"We’re on the same team, so I think we can handle things well on our own," adds Adriael.

You’re right. The new investigation team of Yogen is hard at work to move the reforms along. And there’s two more people helping in that endeavour as well…

"Yup!" Persephone chimes in, cheerful. "I moved to Ayama and joined the Arcane Investigation facility there. Basically, I’m working on revealing the secrets of the power crystal the Master’s were using. And also, I’m kind of in guard duty to make sure no one seeks its power for the wrong reasons… and making sure there’s a clean line of communication between Yogen and Ayama."

Are you living with Hera there?

"Sure am! We became best friends in the game too!" she responds with a big smile.

That’s great. You are also involved on the rebuilding works, yes Marga?

"On my part, I joined a team of druids and researchers to help restore Kashira. Even after the 6 months, I believe there’s still a lot to do to finally let the forest start healing by itself. At least, we want to focus on eliminating any type of poison left by the Grove’s spores and make it habitable again for the local flora and fauna."

Yes, the forest area is immense and the corruption runs deep, but little by little you bring back the life to the scared land. During one of your long days working on the cleansing missions, your team received word of an unexpected finding in one of the hidden clearings of the forest. Alarmed, you quickly moved to the site, worried of what it might be. When you get there, you find a familiar silhouette of a young black dragon, the mutated body rotten and in a rapid state of decaying. A slowly recovering wildlife around the body is starting to claim it back to the earth.

"Oh!" Marga exclaims, a hand rising to cover her mouth.

"There they are…" murmurs Tauros, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"So they came back to live their last moments on their home…" adds Persephone in a sad tone. 

"Can I do something?"

What do you want to do?

"I want to give the flora covering the body a little push, to encourage them to follow their path. See if I can make a worthy resting place for Kokutanmaru. They’re life will also help create new living forms on the forest."

Using your magical gifts, you do so easily. Your team is a bit weary of your actions, but they let you do as you please. Having taken care of this, you and your companions return to your duties. Who wants to go next?

"I will, if you all don’t mind," Eran interjects. "I’m pretty sure I returned to Yogen once we were freed of our contract, but… the almost non-existence audience of El Blanco does little to satisfy my need to express myself to the world," he explains, eyebrows furrowed.

Yup. The place is basically a cover up for a crime ring anyway, so… not much to do there.

"Precisely. I also think all the rest are taking care of their own things," he looks around at the table for a moment. "So I decided to join a band of traveling musicians to go seek the fuel for my soul. Besides, I have also taken an interest in dancing, and would like to perfect the art as we travel the many taverns scattered on the cities of our region."

I see. Do you tell anyone that you leave?

"Of course. I leave a message to Adriael and Robin, and also to Jiro, the owner of El Blanco. I would also like to add that, even if I am not terribly involved in any of their work, I do inform my teammates working in official positions of any troubling rumours I hear while traveling."

Very well, making sure to keep in contact with the team. Who goes now?

"Me," says Pego. "I think I would also go back to Yogen… But I’m not interested in working on shady deals anymore. And having done some work for the authorities, doubt they’d want me anyway," he shrugs. "I believe I joined them on a couple more missions and after seeing how things were then I’d quit."

I don’t think they’ll give you an easy time, trying to leave the organization. But after some time, you managed to take them off your back. What do you do after that?

"Mmmh…" he thinks for a while, twirling a pen around. "Think I’ll go after Eran."

But you don’t know where he is.

"It’s fine. I’ll find him at some point."

"Oh," Eran says, surprised. He continues, voice hesitant. "I apologise for leaving unannounced, I didn’t think…"

"It wasn’t your fault, bet I’ll get to you at some point," Pego reassures him with an easy smile. "By the way Goro-chan’s coming with me."

"Huh?" Tauros and Persephone raise their head at the same time.

Very well, you leave your hometown in search of Eran, in hopes your path crosses with his at some point. Félix, do you want to go now?

"Yeah! Pego and I were together on the same organization, so we probably got out of there together too… But I’m not ready to abandon my life as a mercenary yet, so I’ll try and find a new band. One a bit more honest this time."

Do you search for it around Yogen, or some other part? 

"Yogen’s scene is controlled by the larger group we just left, so I think I’ll search for one in a more neutral territory. And like Eran, I try to pass on any interesting bits of info I find to the people on the authorities, but just form time to time. I don’t want to make my new team suspect me."

And finally, what about you Tauros?

"Aaah, I don’t know… all this official business stuff doesn’t suit me at all… Guess that seeing how Pego left Félix alone, maybe I would join his band and help them out?"

"What?! I don’t want to have an ending with you! And no one left me alone!" Félix jumps out, angry.

"Don’t be such a jerk! And Pego totally ditched you! Besides, I’m like super strong and useful!"

"That’s what you think, you’re just a muscle head!!"

"Now now…" Marga interjects with a small smile, trying to calm both of them. 

You can complain all you want, but it’s actually nice to see a familiar face in the new group of people that are still a bit weary of you, Félix. 

"Mmhh…" the feline growls a bit, not wanting to admit the truth.

"See?" Tauros smirks at him.

And it’s nice to have a muscle wall to take the punches for you.

"Wait what?"

And so, the curtains slowly fall and this story comes to an end. Promises of a brighter and better future await you on the horizon of your new paths, my dear adventurers. May you find what you seek in your lives, and always keep each other close to your hearts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our adventurers have reached the end of their quest, but we still have a bit more to go before we end this story. Sorry if there were lots of typos or mistakes in this chapter, I speed-read through it because I wanted to get it out while I still had a bit of free time left.  
> This last quest was based on the adventure “The Ley-Knot” from the Tal’dorei Campaign Setting book. (page 43)
> 
> As always, thank you very much for reading, and I hope you have a lovely week <3


	22. Our last roll

It’s really cloudy outside, so it’s impossible to tell which time it is. Akira’s not sure what day it is either. Not having to go to school messed up with his schedule quite a bit.

He’s bored of staring up at the ceiling, and his back hurts a little bit from lying in bed for such a long time. He takes a deep breath and braces himself for the upcoming pain, feeling his rips been stabbed by daggers and his leg contouring when he sits up. He rests his back against the windowsill and lets out a deep breath, running a hand down his face in hopes of waking himself up.

It doesn’t help much. He’s been feeling extremely sleepy for a while, but Akira doesn’t dare to close his eyes. He doesn’t want any more nightmares filled with needles, cold buckets of water and faceless men gathering around him. 

He sighs, deciding to take a look around his room; the shelves filled with gifts from all his friends, the heater, the nude statue… His eyes cross to the other side; the old box TV, his game set, the newly added Phantom Thieve banner… he lands on the table, where a stack of notebooks and stray papers rest. His dice bag is next to them. They still haven’t picked all of that up from their last session.

He stares at it for a while. The game… it’s only been a few weeks since they finished the campaign. It almost feels like it was right after they ended that everything came crashing down; the casino heist, the arrest, the torture… the attempted murder. In such a short amount of time, Goro changed his mask and shattered the fragile illusion of friendship they had created. They knew it was coming, but that didn’t soften the blow. 

He can’t stop the thoughts regarding Goro from flooding his mind. Or Akechi, he should say… he needs to get used to using his surname again. 

It had been so easy in game. Just by being together they managed to help Robin escape his fate. Akira thought it would be that easy in real life too. He thought that being with everyone, taking in their kindness and their warmth, would make Goro realize that there was another way. Just like the rest of the thieves had done with Akira, how they had been his lifelines. 

At first, Akira thought they did manage to change Goro’s heart. He remembers seeing pained looks in the young detective’s eyes time and time again when the group was together, the conflicting interests fighting a ruthless battle inside him. But that might have been another intricate lie.

If they hadn’t grown this attached to Goro, he wouldn’t be suffering this much now.

Akechi. Right, it’s Akechi now.

He really wishes they had kept their distance from him. Maybe playing the game was a mistake.

Akira sighs again, though it comes out with a little scoff this time. What is he saying, playing with everyone had been one of the best ideas they ever had. 

It helped Futaba come out of her shell and interact more with everybody, it helped Haru deal with her rough situation at home, it helped all of them become closer together. It helped him to start dating Yusuke.

How could he forget that. That day that Shiho joined them, how shyly Yusuke asked him to stay for a while longer. How concerned and confused he looked when he told Akira about those feeling he could not comprehend. How Akira’s chest hurt from the swelling of his heart at hearing the clumsy and unintentional confession. That pain had been delightful compared to the one Akira’s feeling now.

But the best came after, with the many dates they had before Yusuke finally came to accept and understand the newfound feelings. With the first time his hesitant hand came to hold Akira’s, exploring the new concept of showing his emotions through physical touch and not art. With the first time Akira dared to leave a soft peck on Yusuke’s cheeks, the flustered artist’s look invading Akira’s every dream for weeks. And with the first time Yusuke decided to leave it on Akira’s lips instead, the fluttering of eyelashes and the inexperienced move of lips still the most beautiful sight Akira’s ever seen to this day. 

Everything has its side. For as bad as some things were, there’s still much more to be enjoyed. They might have lost a friend, but they still have each other to keep pushing forward.

Reflecting on that note, Akira decides to toy with the little dog eraser he’s come to carry around everywhere.

He's so deep in his internal rambling that he doesn’t notice when fat raindrops start hitting the windows of his room. He’s so distracted that he doesn’t hear the creaking stairs either. It’s not until a slender figure appears on the top of them that Akira’s startled out of his trance.

"Good afternoon."

Yusuke greets him with a small voice, an even smaller smile gracing his thin lips. He leaves his school bag on the table next to the stares and makes his way to the bed.

Akira looks at him as he approaches, keeping silent. He looks at Yusuke’s face, paler than usual and with heavy dark circles that are starting to climb up his eyelids.

He looks very tired. Akira knows all of his friends are. Even though he’s the one that got the short end of the stick, it wasn’t easy for the rest either; the prior preparations, the uncertainty during the wait, the pretended mourning they had to uphold in case someone was keeping an eye on them… But still, Yusuke’s come to visit him every single day since his confinement at home began. Even if Akira’s not in the mood to talk, he just sits close to him and quietly helps him scare the demons away.

Yusuke will never know how grateful Akira’s for that.

"How was your day?" he asks as he takes a sit on the bed. 

Instead of replying, Akira leans forward until he has Yusuke within reach and curls his arms around the artist’s waist, burying himself in his chest as he hides his face in the crook of his neck.

Yusuke thinks that’s answer enough. Placing a hand on Akira’s back, he wraps his arm along his hips and rest the other hand there, embracing him carefully as to not touch any sore spots.

"Did you get to sleep a bit?"

Still keeping his mouth closed, Akira shakes his head no. The movement makes some of his curls tickle Yusuke’s nose.

"I see," his voice takes on a concerned tone. "It’s still quite early, so maybe you could try to rest for a while before eating dinner."

Without letting go of him, Yusuke arranges the blankets in the undone bed until the mattress is free and he can make them lay down on it. He places Akira’s head comfortably resting on his shoulder and pulls the thick covers over them.

On his part, Akira lets himself get drag back to bed, only moving to cuddle further against his boyfriend, letting his arm drape over Yusuke's chest. He then feels a lightweight come to rest on his waist, and he exhales, feeling comfortable in the embrace.

"If there's anything you need, just say the word," Yusuke's low whisper goes right to his ear, making some of the hairs on his nape raise.

As a reply, Akira nuzzles back into his neck and takes a big breath, taking in his smell. 

Cheap convenience store shampoo with a tint of acrylic paints, Akira’s favourite smell.

Feeling a bit more relaxed, he slightly closes his eyelids. The slow combing Yusuke’s starting to do on his hair encourages him to close them a little further. The feeling of the bony fingers smoothly passing through the curls takes his mind back to the real world.

It’s seems irresponsibly to ignore the current state of things, but just for now, Akira wants to get lost in the safety of Yusuke's warmth and don’t think about anything else. 

He closes his eyes completely, concentrating on the light massage on his scalp and on feeling Yusuke's chest raising and lowering against his cheek.

The artist's loving ministrations slowly lull Akira to sleep, no nightmares plaguing his dreams for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The time has come for us to say farewell. It’s been a long journey, and I’m really happy you came along with me; with the polls, the kudos, the comments, or simply just stopping by to read. You’re all the sweetest, and I’m really thankful you gave this fic a chance.
> 
> I also want to give a special thank you to the lovely @SilverDragon889 for the immense support they showed me during the creation of this fic, starting from day one. You really cannot imagine how encouraging your comments were and how incredibly grateful I am for them. Seeing your messages made my day and also made me want to keep writing this. Thank you very, very much dear! <3
> 
> Before I leave, I would like to let you know that at some point in the future the character sheets I posted on [Chapter 16](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19928839/chapters/50013566) will be deleted to open space for… future projects. If you are interested in any of these projects, feel free to follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/nature_check) @nature_check. And don’t be scared to come say hi!
> 
> For the last time, thank you all very much for reading, and have a lovely week <3


End file.
